The Guardian
by KitlynneSkye
Summary: Nightmares announcing the coming turmoil her people would face plagued Allura, daughter of Alfor the Lionheart, even when she was as far away as Earth. Now, with her father gone and Voltron torn into five pieces, she and her people watch and wait for a miracle.
1. Prologue: Hidden Away

I've always believed that the characterization of Princess Allura was missing something important. I wasn't able to put my finger on it growing up, but now as an adult, I feel like there could have been something more for her than just being a damsel who almost always ended up in distress.

With that in mind, I've taken a number of liberties with our favorite heroes and their characterization for this story about Allura, her planet, and of course our favorite commander.

Having borrowed a little bit from the anime, a little bet from the WEP story created around the anime, various comics and Voltron Force, I'm adding my own twists and turns to the lives of our favorite Fab Five.

It may take a little getting used to, but I think in the long run it will be worth it.

Warnings: None at this time

Prologue: Hidden Away

The nightmare had been haunting her since her last visit home. Voltron would fly up into the sky, a beautiful goddess beckoning him forward only to be torn asunder. His magnificent spirit ripped into five pieces that merged with the five lions that had once been his body.

_You must watch and prepare…_

"Prepare for what?" She cried in response, her heart thundering in terror.

Again, Voltron rose into the heavens, his voice calling to her. You must watch and prepare…

This time, as his body was torn apart she watched as the city of Leonne, capitol of Altaire and home of the Royal Family of Arus, which surrounded the castle itself was vaporized. Everything above the ground, buildings, men, women, children, all gone in an instance.

A shriek escaped her lips as she took in the horror of what had just happened.

_Daughter of the Lion Heart, you must watch and prepare!_

This time, she heeded their protector's command. Never had she remained in the throes of terror so long. She had never seen Leonne disappear into nothingness.

He flew into the heavens a final time. Again, she watched as he was torn to pieces and began to fall toward her planet below.

The city of Leonne again vaporized leaving nothing but charred earth marking where it had once stood.

The dreamworld spun around her faster and faster, events thundering by.

The Blue Lion plummeted into the lake that surrounded the small peninsula the castle stood upon.

The Red Lion, careened into the Golen Volcano.

The Green Lion, more nimble than his brothers, rebounded from twice before burying itself deep within the forest of Helene.

The Yellow Lion slammed into the deserts of Avenoth, a mound forming over it, guarding it from the burning winds of the

Black Lion seemed to recover from the fall, floating toward the castle, a dais raising over the bridge that he touched down upon. She watched as stone formed up around him, the essence of his lion nature captured in a winged lion sculpture, watching over the world he had once protected.

The devastation of war sped by and she watched as Zarkon, Emperor of the Drule Empire, approached her father, who stood valiantly between Zarkon, her mother and three of her siblings in the Valley of Zohar.

She took note of her mother's swollen abdomen and gasped. A seventh child?

And then it began. A duel. And then her father's lifeless body upon the ground, Zarkon cackling in glee and turning toward her mother, her sister and two of her brothers with bloodlust in his eyes.

Her eyes squeezed shut as their screams echoed in her ears.

"No! Make it stop! Please make it stop!"

_Daughter of the Lion Heart, you must watch and prepare._

A scream escaping her lips, the blue eyed daughter of Alfor the Lion Heart bolted forward, exploding from the dream world and into reality. Her head struck the bottom of the bunk over her head.

She covered her mouth as a squeak escaped her lips and held her hands there for a moment before letting out a sigh of relief. She was alone in the on-call room. No one had been there to witness her distress.

Falling back against the pillows she tried to slow her racing heart.

As the last of six children, she had been considered a happy accident that occurred when all four of her siblings had blossomed into adulthood. Her closest sibling, Leonine, was seventeen when she arrived.

Luckily for her, being born so late in the game that there honestly was never a thought that being sixth in line to her father's throne meant she would ever become the crowned princess. It also meant that the moment they realized she was a prodigy of sorts that they were able to encourage her intellectual growth without being concerned about protocol or politics.

It also meant that the youngest Daughter of Arus was no longer tucked safely away within the Castle of Lions on planet Arus with her parents and her guard to protect her.

Instead, she was raised in the custody of her Governess Hys du Llyons who posed as her aunt, Here, on Earth where she attended the Space Academy under a similar provision provided to young Baltonian children.

Allowed be placed in accelerated educational programs she quickly breezed through the general education and initial collegiate curriculum. With an interest in science and medicine she found herself encouraged and pushed through her medical education, coming out ahead of the curve and her peers, ranking second in her class.

Her mother and father had even managed to get away long enough to attend her graduation from medical school and her aunt Orla had made the journey to Earth when she had completed her residency.

Now an accomplished surgeon, she still lived in her Nanny's modest home about a quarter mile off of the academy campus and less than two miles from the hospital she now worked at.

While living on Earth had allowed her some normalcy outside of the eye of the paparazzi, it also left them twisting a tale of lies to hide her identity. They had too as a part of their agreement with the then commandant of the Academy, now Space Marshall Graham. With that came rules, regulations and responsibilities of being a Garrison Officer, complete with thirty days of leave a year which she used to travel home to Arus.

That didn't make it easy on Nanny. Nanny wanted nothing more than for her young charge to be pampered, to dress and act the part.

Instead, her dresses were tossed aside for surgical scrubs, her heels for sneakers and combat boots, and even a great deal of her everyday clothing exchanged for fatigues and the occasional flight suit.

Tonight, eight months into her first year as an attending trauma surgeon, the eighteen year old woman found herself exhausted. Nanny had always complained that they worked her too hard, but when it came down to it, because of her connections and unexpectedly high security clearance due to her station, she had it easy in comparison to her peers.

With a handful of friends who still were occasionally uncomfortable because nearly a decade separated them in age, along with her security detail, life was as good as she could expect. Fourteen months stood between her and the end of her contract that meant a final trip home to Arus where she could join Doctor Gorma, the Royal Physician as a surgeon that served her people.

A sigh escaped her lips. "You must watch and prepare," she said softly to herself before shrugging off the blanket and climbing out of the bunk. It was foolish to dwell over such horrible dreams.

Making sure that both her pagers and cell phones were secured to her hip again, she stretched her arms over her head and slipped out of the on call room just in time for her second phone and trauma pager to go off.

Scowling in confusion, she pulled it from it's clip and entered her twelve digit passcode before the message displayed.

**Exodus protocol initiated.**

Exodus protocol? There were six people that could initiate a quick and dirty extraction that resulted in the evacuation of herself and her security detail.

Her mother, father, and their advisor Coran could initiate such a mission from Arus. On Earth, Admiral Charles McClain, Space Marshall Michael Graham, and Rear Admiral Cynthia Hawkins.

Checking the time, her first thought wasn't to follow the instructions flooding the text message screen of her mobile phone, it was for her patients.

Looking down at her pager she scowled as Sacci, the head of her security detail found her. I

"Don't even think about it," he hissed.

She blinked in surprise as he divested her of her primary phone and pagers, leaving them at the nurses station just outside of the on-call room.

"Dr. du Llyons," the head nurse called in surprise. "We have an incoming trauma. There was a skirmish just outside of the asteroid belt and they're bringing in casualties."

"I can't just leave," she said, drawing the nurse's wide eyed stare.

"According to Admiral McClain, we're getting out of here now. Seelah, Rosai, Niscona, Julianna and Roxxy are already waiting."

Seelah, Rosai'a, Niscona, Julianna and Roxxy were all a part of her security detail. Despite the fact her cover had been well kept since day one, these five women were always with her through every step. That meant Julianna who did not have the capacity to be a doctor or a surgeon was now a scrub nurse. Roxxy and Niscona managed their medical degrees but neither had the capacity for surgery. Roxxy took a post in the ER and Niscona in the ICU. Seelah and Roxxy both worked as MPs assigned to the hospital.

The fact that something had been going on long enough for her detail to be ready to pull out meant it was big.

"You heard Rebekkah, we have incoming trauma. I'm a surgeon first and foremost. Sacci, I can't just leave."

Sacci's grey eyes narrowed, his voice far louder than she would have preferred. "Your Highness, you may be a surgeon but for the next fourteen months you are also an officer in the Garrison and you have been issued a direct order by Admiral McClain to get you royal all off world! If Hys were here she'd have you sedated and thrown over her shoulder already. We leave, now!"

He gripped her elbow painfully and pulled her through the halls which were now teaming with hospital staff despite the late hour. Behind them the nurse who had advised them there was incoming trauma stumbled after them as Allura shouted orders for her patients.

"And for Lt. McClain," she grey haired woman asked, scribbling notes on a datapad as she followed.

The lieutenant had been injured in a skirmish and brought in the day before complaining of acute stomach pain. His commander, a dark haired man named Kogane had watched her like a hawk as she palpated his abdomen. His dark cobalt, almost black eyes had narrowed in confusion as the lieutenant declared he was suddenly feeling better and was in no pain at all before she shoved him out of the way and slammed her gloved hand on an alarm.

Had Lance McClain been out in the thick of it when his appendix ruptured he would have died. Luckily he'd been in her emergency room and even though he wasn't a trauma case, she had been the doctor on call.

"He's grounded for at least three months. I don't want anyone clearing him for duty for at least three months. Watch for infection and make sure they start decreasing the morphine."

Sacci nearly plowed into the Commander she hadn't seen since she had wheeled the lieutenant into recovery.

She scowled as the momentum of Sacci's hurried pace put her directly into the commander's path.

"Doctor, you okay?" He asked, his brows knitting together.

_You must watch and prepare._

The voice echoed in the back of her head and to her surprise, the commander looked around for a moment in confusion.

"Did you hear that," he asked.

She swallowed hard and jerked her arm from Sacci, but before she could ask if he had heard Voltron's voice too, her guard pushed himself between them

"Your highness, we don't have time for this!"

The commander blinked in surprise. "Your highness?"

She nodded and bit her lip. Something screamed in her that she needed to stay. She couldn't leave this man. Of all the men in the universe, this man was important to her and she did not know why.

Now was not the time and she knew it. "Commander Kogane, my apologies. Doctor Rudland will be taking over the lieutenant's care. I am needed -"

"We do not have time for this," Sacci snapped, jerking her away from the confused commander.

"Hey, that is no way to treat a lady," Kogane hissed, his eyes narrowing as he looked down his nose at Sacci, coming to her rescue.

"Commander, it's okay. Sacci is the captain of my guard. We're being evacuated. Please excuse us."

Confusion flooded his blue black eyes. "Evacuated?" He asked, his arms crossing for a moment over his chest. "Doctor, don't you know this is one of the safest places in the universe?"

She looked over her shoulder as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his fatigues, allowing herself to be pulled into the lift at the end of the hall. Their eyes only met once before the lift closed behind her.

_You must watch and prepare…_


	2. Chapter One: By His Honor

Good evening everyone!

Welcome to Chapter One of the Guardian. I was so happy to see that we've already had 100 hits, five followers, four favorites and there reviews in little more than a day.

Before we get started with the next chapter, I wanted to answer some of the questions I've received and offer a bit of insight into this story.

First and foremost, this will be a Keith and Allura story. 100%, all the way, our favorite commander will have his handful with a stubborn and more self assured princess on his hands.

Second, yes yes yes! Allura is not only a surgeon at a very young and accomplished age, she's also a Garrison Officer. In all honesty I was carried away in my imaginings and found myself watching episodes of Dougie Howser. I allowed myself a few hours of crushed Neil Patrick Harris fangirlness before thinking that if Dougie Howser could do it in his fictional world, then Allura could do it in my favorite fandom! Of course, to become a doctor, let alone a surgeon in the military trained on Earth, she'd have to be an officer. So there you have it! :)

Finally, how often will I be posting new chapters and will I finish this crazy roller coaster ride I'm putting our fab five on. The answer is yes, I will be finishing! As to frequency of posts, my goal is at least once every other week. While there will be times like this one where I can post more frequently I know there will be times when posting regularly just will not be possible.

That said, there are 17 planned chapters in this story that all occur before Lotor even makes it to Arus! He has a special part in my story, unfortunately you'll have to wait a bit to see him.

I want to thank you all so much for your encouragement over the last few days. I can't begin to tell you how much your encouragement has me not only writing the next chapter, but hammering out the plot bunnies.

I also wanted to let you know that I will respond to all reviews, both positive and negative within 24 - 72 hours as long as they aren't anonymous. If they're anonymous, how can I send you a reply?

For this chapter there are no additional warnings and while the circumstances may feel a bit contrived, I honestly believe that Keith would have behaved as he does in this chapter. He has too many questions that need answers. Sadly, I think this chapter just leaves him with more.

This chapter, and probably a few more were fueled by The Infinite Jukebox which I had set to mix up Information High from MacCross Plus [ . ?trid=TRYDUNS13B1D722722] This ap mixes your music on the fly and it's fun to watch. You can upload up your own music or search for things that have already been mixed. Some of my favorites have been Tunak Tunak Tun, Billie Jean and others. Try listening to Information High in the mixer while you read and I'll do my best to offer you something to listen to while you read. :)

The Guardian by Kitlynne Skye  
Chapter One: By His Honor

Keith ran a hand through his black hair as he made his way back toward Lance's room.

Sven stood outside of the door waiting for him, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes dark with rage. "If he had suddenly felt better like that in the field," he began before trailing off in thought. He scowled, his accent words barely recognizable as English before adding "we would have let him keep fighting."

He nodded, listening to his second in command thoughtfully. There was something about his thick accent that was almost reassuring to him right now. They had both felt the same page.

Lance having appendicitis was a reminder that they were all just human. In the end they were just as fragile as anyone else. It didn't matter who they were or how much training they had, they could all be injured or succumb to illness.

"Keith, do you know how long they expect him to be out of it?"

He sighed. Just a few hour ago he had a run in with his best friend's surgeon that had left him baffled.

The man with her had called her Princess and bit back the sigh that threatened to escape his lips. A woman like that had to be a princess. Confident, poised, beautiful, legs up to her beautiful blue eyes that reminded him of the sky, a doctor, a surgeon and an officer.

Why couldn't he meet a woman like that without those kind of complications? He tried to shrug their encounter off, but he couldn't.

Once the lift doors closed, he had taken the stairs as fast as his body would allow him and burst through the fire door just in time to see the pair exit the building. Clear of the crowd iside of the hospital, they began to run toward an unmarked transport that he recognized as belonging to the Space Marshall himself.

Something about her had to be more important than just being a surgeon or a princess, especially if the Space Marshall's detail had retrieved her with a battle going on in the solar system.

She was important. Not just to the Alliance and her unknown home, but somehow to him.

He had immediately contacted Admiral McClain who had been in a closed doors meeting. The moment he mentioned du Llyons and his son, his secretary, Killian put him on hold before patching him through to a private line.

"What happened. He was fine when I left this morning. His mother won't be in from Toronto until noon."

Keith let out the breath he was holding.

"He's doing as well as can be expected. The surgeon has him grounded for three months."

Charles McClain let out a sigh. There was a lot of sighing going on. "You sure he surgeon said three months," he finally asked.

"We knew the damage was extensive but I honestly thought four weeks at the most. She had to have her reasons though. Maybe you could ask her?"

Charles McClain scoffed. He could almost hear the Admiral's annoyance and frustration in the way his breathing changed.

"Won't be possible. It's best you forget she was ever here. I will be there as soon as I am able. In the meantime, I would consider tuning into GANN in my son's room and then offering up a prayer for our young doctor friend."

"I'll do that , sir." Without a closing to their conversation the line for his mobile went dead and he sighed. There was something about that woman that was tugging at him. His instincts told him he should not have let her leave.

Pocketing his phone he slammed his palm down on the emergency stop and the lift sprang into motion. Strange, he didn't remember stepping into the lift, let alone pulling the emergency stop button and now he was facing Sven.

"Keith?"

He blinked in surprise and finally answered. "Surgeon says three months. In the long run it's up the docs to clear him. Come on, let's check on Lance. His dad said we should be watching GANN."

Sven raised a curious brow as the stepped into the private room. Hunk was leaning back in one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs snoring softly. The last few days had been a crazy mishmash of unexpected combat until they had been recalled for a restbit. What had started as seventy hours of rest and planning had been disrupted by Lance's appendix. Now their whole team was grounded.

Knowing they were picking up a new team mate, a young Balton genius named Stolker, it made sense that they take the time to regroup and readjust their team dynamic to make good for the new kid.

Noting Lance was asleep, both Keith and Sven took an empty seat close enough to Lance's bed to help him out if he woke up, but remain out of the way of his caregivers.

Sven tossed him the remote and he set the television to 218 and and felt his stomach drop.

Charles McClain had all but ordered him to watch the need broadcast and pray for the doctor he had encountered only twice. Knowing that she was a princess was only one piece of the puzzle.

The next piece came far quickly than he had expected, the voice he had heard before in the back of his mind boomed with urgency.

_You must watch and prepare._

He blinked in confusion. Sven was looking at the screen, his eyes eyes reading over the news ticker that traveled a cross the bottom of the screen. Hunk was still sucking z's and Lance was still out cold.

Swallowing hard, he scowled. The advertisements gave way to recent news. And just before a feed showing a ship approaching the Azure jump gate he heard a horrified scream followed uncontrollable sobbing.

Sven gasped and Keith's jaw dropped.

Jump gates were the safest way to move quickly through the universe. The silver vessel barring the Arusian Royal Crest painted upon it's how entered the gate.

As it began to phase for the jump the gate exploded, the ship entering the gate disappeared in a burst of flame only to be choked out by the vacuum of space.

The image scrambled into static and was replayed in a loop as the talking heads began analyzing the disaster.

"Crowned Prince Tohar, his wife Princess Galena, iand their nfant daughter Larmina, Prince Kallen, and fifteen other souls were on board the Diamond Star when it was preparing to jump. There were no survivors," said the host who turned to the woman sitting next to her.

"With me today via hollow is Divora Franco, Royal Analyst and official correspondent with the Royal House of Arus. Divora, tell us more about this situation. Has the Arusian Royal family commented?"

The hollow of the sitting woman had the decency to wipe a tear from her eye before speaking. "No, Della. As you can imagine, the Royal Family as well as all of the people of Arus are absolutely devastated. Her Majesty the Queen is currently expecting, which of course was a surprise for our people and we are concerned about her fragile state. The King and Prime Minister Coran have been in chambers with his children and his wife. We expect a crowning for Prince Dolan to occur by the end of the day."

"Divora, obviously this is a trying time for your people. In addition to this disaster there are rumors of a threat on the life of the you the youngest princess of Arus, Allura. Is there any credibility to the threats made on the life of her Highness?"

Divora's image flinched. "As you know, the Empire has already taken credit for today's devastating losses. We take any threats made on her royal Highness, and all of our people as serious ones."

Della's eyes flashed and Keith recognized immediately that the analyst had walked right into her trap.

The screen split to show not only Della and her holographic representation of her guest, but a picture of a woman that he had just run into only an hour or so earlier in the day while the image of the Azure jump gate explosion looped in the background.

"Our sources indicate that the Lion Heart hid his youngest daughter, Allura here on Earth and that she participated in an accelerated education program that was previously offered only to Balton children"

If Divora reacted, it was only a blink. She tapped her ear piece twice as she listened to Della carry on about the achievements of the daughter of Arus while a student. When Della divulged that she was a surgeon stationed at the Garrison Hospital despite being only eighteen years of age, Divora went white.

"Della, while it is true her Highness is an accomplished trauma surgeon, one who has saved hundreds of lives throughout her young career, it is not unexpected that an accomplished woman of her station would do so under an assumed identity. This ensured her own safety as well as that of her patients."

"-don't you think the people of Earth had the right to know that they were harboring a woman now considered to be a criminal by the Empire? The Royal Family of Arus has been declared official enemies of the Empire itself."

Divora bit back an uncomfortable laugh. "Since when did the Alliance cater to the Emperor of Doom? Is he not knocking on your solar systems doorstep this very day?"

Della scowled on camera and then her eyes lit up as an image of the Princess of Arus exiting the Space Marshall's motorcade on the arm of her guard began to play. When the camera zoomed in on her face, he was able to note her eyes were red and swollen, chunks of her hair had escaped their regulation bun and were tangled around her face.

"Keith, that's his surgeon?"

He nodded. The camera caught her breath hitch as she raised her free hand to her face to shield the world from her grief.

To his dismay, one of the more bold members of the press stepped forward and placed a microphone in front of her face after asking if she would comment on the days events. She first paled and then her eyes flashed with fury. The guard he had seen her with moved to steer her around the dark haired reporter and through the gate of the Arusian Embassy.

She jerked her arm from her guard's a pulled the microphone from the surprised woman and stepped toward her as she squared her shoulders. "You want me to comment on the needless death of my brothers, my brother's wife and my niece as though I am some form of entertainment? You should be ashamed of yourself."

She thrust the microphone back into the woman's hand. "Must I remind you that Zarkon will stop at nothing to not only destroy my world but overthrow your Alliance?"

Turning on her heel, she joined her guard and entered the Embassy through it's main gates. He had a feeling they would never see her leave the Embassy through those same gates.

"Wow! A princess! I never would have thought it," Sven mumbled.

Keith nodded as the news broadcast changed stories, this time focusing on the skirmish outside of the asteroid belt that protected the inner solar system and the Sol System Jump Gates.

He shook his head and clenched his fists. He knew he should be out there, but with his team a man down there was no way they would get cleared for flight duty let alone combat.

_You must watch and prepare,_ the voice insisted again.

This time he growled in response. Whatever it was, it was starting to get on his nerves. He didn't like games, and this was beginning to feel more like a game than a warning.

Pushing himself to his feet he decided to make himself useful. It would take several hours to move a princess off planet with the skirmishes that were still ongoing. Perhaps he could be of use to her and find out a little more about the strange warnings he was receiving before she was out of his reach forever.

"Sven, I'm going out for a bit. If Lance wakes up before his dad gets here, text me."

Sven nodded, without taking his eyes off the screen. They were all fighter pilots and having the thick of it come to their system without being a part of it went against everything they were. More than likely Sven was just as annoyed as he was.

Stepping outside of the room Keith sent a message to Admiral McClain.

Kogane: **They're evacuating the Princess of Arus. Broadcast shows she's hunkered down at her Embassy. She didn't leave the hospital with any of her personal effects. I would like permission to take them to her.**

McClain: **Granted. Transport has been arranged for her and her detail. You only have a few hours.**

Kogane: **Say the word, sir.**

McClain: **Commander Kogane, you are hereby ordered to recover her royal highness' personal effects from the Garrison Medical Facility under the name Lulu du Llyons, and deliver them to the Arusian Embassy.**

Kogane: **On it.**

Honestly surprised he'd been granted a menial task like this one. He took it in stride. He may or may not have a few moments to find out what was actually going on.

Forty-eight minutes later he was moved through security at the Embassy and left in a meeting room to himself.

The contents of her locker had been surprising. Pictures of her with her people who he assumed were the King and Queen of Arus dressed as civilians at a graduation, and several pictures of her with an older woman found their way into the box with pictures of her and other hospital staff made their way inside. Piled on top of the folder he'd tucked the pictures into, several medical textbooks, a personal data pad, two pairs of sneakers, and a change of clothes. On top of the small pile, a pink scrub cab with bunnies on it. He couldn't help but think that small children would have responded to her sunshiny demeanor wearing that kind of cap.

Seventeen minutes of waiting later, she slipped into the conference room through a side door. Her hair had been brushed and twisted into a less regulatory bun complete with twin braids coming out from under the small silvery circlet on her forehead back into the mass of sloppy curls. No longer wearing scrubs or even a uniform, he was taken back when he realized she appeared every bit the part of a princess while wearing a soft pink poets blouse over a grey pencil skirt.

What caught him off guard were her eyes. The bright eyed, capable surgeon seemed to be lost in a see of fury and pain.

"Your highness," he asked gently.

She sighed and took a shaky breath and nodded. "You know?"

He nodded. "It's all over GANN. Though, how you handled the reporter -"

She laughed softly as fresh tears filled her eyes.

She looked up and met his eyes and he shook his head. To his surprise he heard his voice say something he never thought he would say in his life to anyone. "If I had it my way, you would never have a reason to be this disheartened."

Her head cocked to the side as she searched his face for something and found only sincerity. "Thank you for coming all this way. I'm afraid that we're preparing for our departure."

He nodded. "Princess, I heard something as you were leaving the hospital today and I've heard it over and over since. I don't know what it is or where it's coming from."

"You must watch, and prepare," she whispered softly, her eyes burning with tears again.

He nodded.

"I hear the voice in my dreams and now during my waking hours. It forces me to watch over and over again as everything I hold dear is destroyed."

"Destroyed? How?"

She sat in a high backed chair at the head of the table that was normally occupied by the ambassador and motioned for him to sit beside her.

"Voltron meets a beautiful goddess in the heavens and she destroys him. I watch over and over as he is torn into five pieces that fall to my planet's surface."

He blinked. "Princess, Voltron is a legend."

She laughed through her tears. "No, not at all! I've grown up in his shadow and played at his feet, at least until I was sent to Earth. Voltron will always stand as a guardian over my planet. Even if his body is destroyed, his voice will speak. I just wish that Voltron being destroyed was the only thing my dreams showed me."

Keith leaned back and watched her as she closed her eyes. "The city of Leonne, I watch as it simply disappears. The people, cars, horses, children, everything just gone leaving behind scorched earth. And then my father," she chokes on her breath and her shoulders drop.

"What happens to your father?"

"Zarkon kills him. He takes his head and then with my father's sword kills my mother and my older brothers and sister. My mother, she was pregnant and he made sure that not only did she die, but the baby as well."

Keith felt something burning in the back of his mind as the voice whispered to both of them. _You must watch and prepare._

"How is it you hear?" She pondered allowed, only to be interrupted as Sacci stepped inside. "Commander Kogane, thank you for bringing her belongings to us, but we need to prepare for our journey home."

"Sacci, I need a few more moments," she insisted.

Sacci scowled at them. "You have five minutes, your highness."

She nodded and waited from him to leave before turning her attention back to the commander. They were both in the midst of putting the pieces of the puzzle they were a part of together. With a shaky sigh, as she rose to her feet.

"Commander, please remember that I was serious about the lieutenants medical directives. He should do no more than a brisk walk over the next three months to ensure that his body fully recovers from the damage his ruptured appendix caused. It doesn't matter if your flight surgeon clears him, he does not so much as jog without approval from my office. Just because I will not be there, they will ensure that my orders are met."

Keith nodded, pushing himself to his feet and offering her the single box he had brought her. "Your highness, if something happens to you on your journey home, please know that I will come for you."

She smiled as Sacci opened the door for her and motioned to her that it was time.

"For some reason I believe you," she said softly. Her eyes searched his face again for something that neither of them could define and then just like earlier in the day she was gone.


	3. Chapter Two: Seeing Double

Hi Everyone,

Here is my second attempt at uploading this chapter. Apparently the first one didn't load successfully which made me pretty sad.

That said, Chapter Three is going through it's last edits and I plan to have it ready for you tomorrow.

While the video annoys me, this chapter was inspired by the song Stay by Shakespeare's Sister. I've got a link for you in case you want to listen while you read. [ watch?v=_eXw47qb4U0]

The Guardian

Chapter Two: Seeing Double

Her life was spinning out of control in what felt like slow motion. She had encountered Commander Kogane for the third time and he left her heart racing. Unable to recognize what it was that drew her to him meant that she had no way to describe it and at that moment the only people that could help her identify what was happening between her and that man were on the other side of the universe.

Hys sighed next to her and dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. Allura knew that Hys could help her with this but was afraid her governess would pass him off as a crush. It was expected to happen sometime in her life since she still was a hormonal teenager and he was a dashing, handsome soldier who had promised to find her if she was lost. What girl wouldn't be moved by that kind of overture in the face of war and death threats?

"Focus, Lulu," she muttered to herself. She still had a dozen or so medical orders to issue in far too short a time without hands on experience with her patients.

"Allura, what is it?"

She blinked and turned to her Governess with a grim look that included her lips pressed together, swollen eyes and a red nose. She knew she looked awful and as a woman who always wore her heart on her sleeve it would not be long before she would have to come clean with her surrogate mother and guardian.

Putting the data pad down she took a deep breath. "It's all too fast, Nanny. My brothers, Larmina and Gally. One moment I was up to my elbows in space explorers, quite literally, and now I'm running away from the life I know and love to a life and world I barely know. Isn't the Commander correct? Right here, right now. Isn't this the safest place for me?"

Silently she added with him. She looked into Hys' eyes. "Nanny, there's something wrong about all of this and it isn't the pain of our losses. I feel that leaving here weakens me. It robs me of my strength."

Hys sat back for a moment, watching her charge pour through medical files as they were carried toward the Spaceport Olean. With Allura's education, she and her parents missed so much of her childhood. For them it was like one day she was a child playing on the swing in the garden and then in the blink of an eye, she was an adult trapped in a child's body.

"I do not think leaving here robs you of your strength," she finally said thoughtfully. "I think it will force you to grow and become stronger outside of what you feel is your day to day life."

Allura nodded. "Nanny, when did my father begin to hear the voice?"

Hys blinked in surprise. No one had ever discussed the hearing around Allura. There had been no need to since she was not on their world and had not come into adulthood. Now that she was an adult, perhaps they had done her a disservice in not preparing her.

"How do you know about that?"

"Nan, I've been hearing it for a long time. Mostly in my dreams, but more recently I hear it when I'm awake too. I'm being told to watch and prepare and the things I'm shown in my dreams make me ill."

She trailed off as their car slowed to a halt. In a line of dozens of vehicles entering the base, Allura submitted her last directive for her patients and switched her mobile device off.

Moving through the checkpoint would take longer than normal and time felt like it was slowing down again.

She shifted, feeling more uncomfortable than she had any time in her life before this moment. Her people were in turmoil, her brothers were dead. Her parents and her siblings were suffering and there was an ache of loss in her heart that was growing the closer that they got to their departure.

"Dearest?"

Allura turned toward her guardian, with tears in her eyes. "What if there is another that hears when you do?"

Hys reached toward her and took her nervous hands into her own. "That would be a blessing."

"How so?"

Hys smiled and brushed a stray tendril of golden hair behind her ear. "That would be a conversation best for your mother and father."

She nodded. She didn't like that something was being kept from her.

An hour later, Allura's thoughts of him were buried. Reunited with her ladies and the captain of her guard she found herself staring at them in shock. Seelah's rich mahogany hair was now platinum blond with golden undertones, her chocolate brown eyes sported a vivid blue shine that only could have been caused by contacts or implants.

Niscona's ash colored hair had been brightened, and Allura guessed that she was wearing lifts in her boots to raise her another two inches in height. Julianna always could have posed as her double was now dressed just like she was, complete with a circlet upon her head.

The most startling of the changes was Roxxy who's frizzy fire red curls had been tamed, and stripped of all color leaving her as a paler version of Allura.

She watched as a series of men and women joined them. The women all dressed as Nanny's double. She felt sick.

"No! No! No! No!"

All eyes were on her.

Understanding why the women in her detail all had similar facial features and body structures caught her off guard and knocked the wind out of her.

"You had to have wondered at some point." Roxxy whispered as she stepped forward and drew Allura into her arms.

Clutching her friend she sobbed uncontrollably. "I won't let you do this. I can't let you do this! I order you not to do this!"

Roxxy pulled away and each of the women came forward; offering words of comfort and encouragement.

When they stood before her she began to wring her hands nervously. Niscona scoffed at her and stepped forward. "Sweetheart, those hands are worth a fortune. We can't have you ruining them now."

She nodded slowly.

"I can't let you do this. No one should ever have to put themselves into danger like this for me. We may never see each other again," she whispered.

"That's a risk that we're all willing to take."

She and Nanny watched as the each woman was paired up with a Hys lookalike and a guard.

When Sacci finally approached her, he shook his head. "You need Hys more than you need me. We can't risk all three of us on the same ship. I'm going with Jules and Richy there, he's going with you two."

Her lip quivered. In less than a days time her world had unraveled around her and she had no choice but to watch. Sacci had been with her since she was seven, and Jules had come into their lives only a few years ago. While she could plainly see that they were in love, as a part of her detail that could never be. It made sense that he would go with Jules so that she could have Hys with her.

Far too soon it was her, Nanny and Richy. Richy, a lieutenant who had graduated in her class, was nearly ten years older than she was.

Her eyes narrowed before meeting his and she immediately found herself disliking the way he was looking at her.

"Our ship is waiting, princess. Let's get you out of here."

She nodded.

She had hoped to see Admiral McClain or Space Marshall Graham before her departure, but neither had arrived. Part of her longed for another interruption by Commander Kogane. It would have been so much easier if Keith Kogane had disrupted their departure.

_I know you can hear_, she thought to herself. _Please, you can hear it. Can you hear me too?_

Resigned to the journey to Arus, she found herself worrying her lip between her teeth as she was strapped into the hopper them up to the Mier III. Docked there were a series of ships preparing for deep space voyages and it was inevitable that she, Nanny and this new guy would be passengers.

As the countdown for their ship began she turned her head to Hys and asked, "Nanny, what if I'm leaving the one who hears behind?"

Hys' eyes widened. "Darling, no! The one who hears should never be left behind."

A choked sob escaped her lips. "Must we loose everything?"

Hys gripped her hand and offered her as much strength as she could while a new voice cried out in dismay in the back of her mind. _ I can hear you! But can you hear me?_

"Nanny, we can't leave! We can't! Please, I have to go back.

Hys turned toward her charge as something new and different washed over her. Grief and pain disappeared Allura's face as determination took over. "Nanny, the one who hears. He's here on Earth. Please, I can't just leave!"

Hys blinked in confusion. Alfor had been in his mid twenties when had begun to hear Orla's sister. She herself had heard her Galvendor when she was only fifteen. The fact her sweet Princess had taken so long to hear had been attributed to the fact she was so far away from her people.

Pulling her hands from Hys' she struggled with the buckle and let out a cry of dismay. It had already been locked for the duration of their short flight to the space station above them.

"No! Captain! We cannot leave yet. I order you to disengage the restraints. We're not ready to depart."

The lieutenant chuckled. "Sorry princess, our orders don't come from you or even the house of Arus. Space Marshall Graham ordered you off planet by sundown. Sun is setting."

Thrusters fired, lifting the shuttle from the ground.

Her eyes burned with tears. She'd already lost her niece who she had only seen once during the child's life along with two of her brothers. She was determined not to lose Kogane before they were able to identify exactly what it was that was happening with them.

Struggling to pull her portable data pad free of it's case she managed to send a message to the first person she could think of, Admiral McClain.

**DuLlyons**: I need to speak with Commander Kogane before we break orbit.

**McClain**: Your highness, I appreciate that you were able to save my son. However, once you are on board the Mier III, your entourage will be under radio silence. You should have already been briefed about the security measures.

**DuLlyons**: You don't understand. If you can get me a secure channel to my father, he would agree with me. I need to speak to the commander.

**McClain**: You dock with the Mier III in the next twelve minutes. I'll see what I can do.

Her eyes squeezed shut as the thrusters fired and she felt gravity pin her to her seat. She hated take off almost as much as she disliked landing.

When she opened her eyes after they had already cleared the stratosphere. There on her screen she found a single pending message.

**Kogane**: Princess?

**DuLlyons**: Commander?

**Kogane**: Admiral says we have only a few minutes. If it's important, we need to make this fast.

**DuLlyons**: I heard you.

**Kogane**: I don't know what all of this means.

**DuLlyons**: I'm not supposed to leave you behind. There has to be a way.

**Kogane**: Princess, I don't know what this means. I can't just leave. I have a team that relies on my just like you have a whole planet waiting for you.

**DuLlyons**: It means so much more than that. There will never be anyone else who hears. I don't know how to explain. My father could, but I don't understand it all.

**Kogane**: I'm a soldier. I go where my orders take me.

**DuLlyons**: Then I order you to follow me. Come with me! Hys says I'm not meant to leave you behind.

**Kogane**: My orders come from the Admiral, the Space Marshall and a small army of generals and senior officers. On Earth your a Lieutenant. Your orders don't effect me.

**DuLlyons**: My father could!

**Kogane**: Your father has no sway over the Garrison.

**DuLlyons**: I can't leave. Not yet.

**Kogane**: You don't have a choice.

The cursor blinked for a few moments.

**Kogane**: I still don't know what this means, but We don't have a choice.

**DuLlyons**: I can't do this without you.

The cursor flashed and the ship rolled.

**_SIGTRACEABORT_**

A cry of frustration escaped her lips as she suppressed the urge to throw the datapad at Richy's head.

In her mind two voices whispered. The first, familiar ordering her to prepare. The second, distant and fading away.

"No!" She sobbed, "this isn't right! You have to send me back! I can't leave! I can't! You don't understand. Something horrible will happen if I leave!"

_For now you have to._

_You must watch and prepare._

Hys made their apologies as she ushered the princess into the cabin that they would share for the next three weeks. Their first jump would take them to Ebb where they would refuel before the two week long flight to Arus.

Frustrated, and emotionally exhausted, Allura allowed her governess to tuck to tuck her into her small bunk.

"Rest now, my dearest. Soon you will be home with your mother and everything will look better than it does now," she said as she stroked her blonde hair back away from her face.

"How can it be better? My brothers? And I'm leaving him behind?"

Hys sighed softly and then began to hum the song her mother used to sing to her when she was unable to sleep at night.

"Oh Nanny," she sobbed, clinging to Hys. Everything hurt. Her heart, her thoughts, her body, all ached with exhaustion.

_For now you have to..._ his voice whispered in the back of her mind while it spoke over and over again how she must prepare, chasing her into a fitful sleep.

The later demanding she watch as pipers marched slowly ahead of a series of carriages carrying sarcophagi from the old castle toward the hills where a single cave would grant them access to the underground.

She, Hys and her father's minister walked slowly behind wearing black. She was covered head to tow in the garments of her aunt the Dowager Queen of Helena, to hide her presence from prying eyes as she sobbed brokenly.

"I can't do this without you," she whispered, her voice carried by the wind that kicked up sand from the scorched earth. "Please don't make me do this alone. They're gone. They're all gone."

Coran and her newest guard Richy were all but holding her up as the pipes droned on.

Above the haunting melody, she could hear him whispering into her ear as though he was there beside her. "For now, you have too. You must stay strong."


	4. Chapter Three: Their Hearts

I wanted to take a few moments to thank everyone for their encouragment and continued reviews of this story of mine.

I honestly didn't think that this part of the story would come out this early, but I think that it fits what I have planned. I've said it before and I'll say it again, sometimes stories have a mind of their own!

Poor Keith! I put him through the emotional ringer and I think that this ringer will lead to a lot of interesting interactions for his character.

Unfortunately for Allura and Keith, their journey isn't going to be sunshine, flowers, rainbows, unicorns and fluffy kittens. (Maybe one of my artist friends out there would put together a Keith/Allura picture with them in the sunshine, under a rainbow with a fluffy version of Jaga(Blue Cat) and a unicorn… Could be amusing.

That said, I've been re-watching not only Golion but Voltron as well. If you are interested in seeing episodes of GoLion they are available with subtitles on one of my favorite sites, CrunchyRoll! [ go-lion/episode-1-escape-from-slave-castle-565855]

Have an amazing night and hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with another post!

The Guardian

Chapter Three: Their Hearts and One of Six Chambers

Keith was surprised to find Admiral McLain standing at their door. It was early, barely 0600 on a Saturday. He figured he was there to check on Lance, but if that was the cause Charles would not be in uniform and Mariah, his wife would have arrived with Lance's little sister Brittania.

Of course Keith himself should have still been sleeping, but with a decade of keeping a soldiers hours, sleep past sunrise was a rarity.

He had experienced a number of surprises over the last eight days. From Lance nearly losing his life to appendicitis, meeting the woman of his dreams, and then losing her to an evacuation of her people from Earth, well he was emotionally exhausted.

At least they were settling into life on base as a grounded team. They were so used to coded quarters that instead of dumping them into the barracks they were offered a house in the the development named for a famous marine, Chesty Puller.

They couldn't complain much, though it was weird to be a bunch of bachelors in a family housing development. They got strange looks as they came and went, but it was better for Lance to be here while he convalesced than stuck in some small dorm room.

"Admiral? Lance is still asleep."

Charles McClain took a moment to look over his son's best friend. He'd considered Keith one of his own after his parents mission in the Laos system went south. Montgomery and Claire Yi-Kogane were still listed as missing in action even though it was more than likely the pair had already met their maker. Keith was twelve when it happened and Charles and Mariah had taken him in.

Obviously, Charles McClain didn't like what he was seeing. The man before him was exhausted and looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"I'm not here to see Lance, son."

Keith opened the screen door and motioned him through the common area to the kitchen. "Coffee?"

Charles nodded.

"Keith, it isn't often we receive communications in a non-digital way. Because of your relationship with my family, well the post master brought this directly to me. You have to understand why it was screened. None of the contents have been altered or redacted."

Keith blinked and watched as Charles pulled a slightly weathered parchment envelope from the inside pocket of his jacket.

"While this letter changes nothing because the Arusian Embassy has been evacuated, it also changes everything. You may want a stuff drink after you read that letter and we talk."

Confused Keith pulled several sheets of parchment from the envelope and noticed that it was addressed to the general mail pool. There was no greeting and no return address.

_A funny thing happens on the way home. Our voyage was disrupted when we arrived at our first port of call. The Cathagral and her support fleet were in orbit. My heart skipped a best when I recognized the fleet that ferried the Empress of Doom. What she was doing so deep into Alliance territory was beyond me. I honestly didn't think she would risk such a thing with the battle we witnessed before we made the jump _

_Since we were just a slow moving medical cargo ship, Yang didn't think we would be bothered. To our surprise her Excellency hailed us personally._

_Imagine my surprise. Only two days into this nightmare and I was delivered I a neat little package to her Excellency. Talk about irony._

_What we did not know was that she was specifically looking for a medical transport._

_We were hailed almost immediately and it was the Empress herself who appeared on screen. They needed female surgeon who has not known the touch of a man._

_Honestly, I was embarrassed, but when they idicated they had a female surgeon traveling with them, she requested a private audience._

_What I learned was that she was a princess from Galria before she was taken as a warbride by Daibaazal Zarkon. The Galra believe that only those who are pure may minister to physical ailments. When she finished explaining why she needed my help, I was in shock._

_The Empress wanted me to operate on her son who was in stasis. He had been injured when his personal craft had been sabotaged. When they arrived at the planet we were supposed to refuel at, she found no surgeons available that could assist them._

_I couldn't say no. My oath as a physician means more to me than most things I know in my life._

_When we brought him out of stasis to check his neurological function he called me an angel. He knew who he was and that he was in an accident, but not much else._

_Lotor the Conqueror is a viable Drule-Galran hybrid! _

_I've never seen anything like his anatomy in our text books so locating the bleed and repairing the damage to his cardio-thoracic cavity was a terrifying experience under the watchful eye of his royal physician._

_His heart had six chambers! Humanoids have four, the Galra have five and the Drule five, but the prince of the Empire and the Galra Imperial forces had six chambers._

_It was a beautiful marvel of medicine that allowed his Galra and Drule sides to coexist. The repair to his superior aorta was nothing short of a miracle and I have no doubt that he will be up and moving around within a matter of days. I ordered him more bed rest than I did Lance, but I doubt that they'll heed my medical orders._

_Before they departed, the Empress sought my council again. _

_I was not prepared for the first encounter, let alone a second. _

_She thanked me. She knew who I was. She understood why I could have refused her request and provided me the gift of one of her rings. When the time came, I could use this ring among the Galra people to call in the life debt that she and the crowned prince owed me._

_The entire encounter lasted less than a day and now we're preparing for the journey home._

_I for one am more than thankful that I had been onboard. A life debt owed by the Empress and the Crowned Prince coudl be a valuable blessing for my people in the future. Luckily I was on a medical transport and had access to a full surgical suite._

_Keith, I am still riding what we call a surgeons high. I've never seen a heart like that before and someday I hope to describe to you in detail my experience if the graphic descriptions are ones you can stomach._

He looked up from the parchment, his eyes wide with surprise.

"She performed open heart surgery on Lotor the Conqueror?"

Charles nodded. "It's a miracle she was able to save his life and repair the damage. As a trauma surgeon her specialty is general surgery and the quick fixes that allow specialists time to fully repair internal damage."

Keith laughed. He wasn't even half way through her letter. So far she reported that less than two days out they encountered the Empress herself and was not taken into custody. Shaking his head he turned over the page he was reading and found a diagram that she had hastily sketched of the heart she had repaired.

He hadn't even noticed that Charles had fixed himself a mug of fresh coffee or that he had poured him his own mug of the black steaming brew.

It was during this rare bout of laughter that Sven came in from his morning run. "Good morning Keith, Admiral McClain."

Slightly out of breath from the sprint through the development at the end of his run, Keith had barely made out what Sven was saying through his accent.

"Coffee Sven," Keith asked as he wiped tears of mirth from his eyes.

Sven sighed and passed them. "Nah, just some juice before I hit the showers."

Keith watched as Sven pulled a quart of orange juice out of the fridge before heading upstairs.

"That girl seems to attract trouble," Charles commented as he watched Sven bolt up the stairs.

Keith nodded. "It all started with Lance just a few days ago."

Charles agreed. "Is he following the doctor's orders?"

"Not willingly." Keith gulped down the contents of his mug before returning to the parchment before him.

_So much has happened in my life and I'm still in a fog. There are moments when I feel the pain of losing my loved ones and it's crushing. Hys, my governess, says that it is to be expected._

_I've never lost anyone before. Sure I've lost patients on the table, but no one that I was emotionally vested in._

_She and I have had a lot of time to talk over the last few days. When I ask about the one who hears, she initially said that I should never leave behind the one that hears. Then she said I should talk to my mother and father about it._

_I could tell she was holding something back and as I tried to explain to her I felt as though I was dying inside she finally broke down._

_I've seen her cry over the last few days and even when I graduated from the Academy and from medical school. I saw her cry when they told us about my brother's ship and the Azure gate being destroyed. She's part of my family, of course she was upset._

_But this was different. She was holding me and sobbing and rocking me. She was telling me how sorry she was that she didn't listen to me._

_I've never seen her like this, but then she told me about what happened when she lost the one that she could hear._

_It's a different kind of devastation. _

_My heart was pounding and I felt sick. I told her, "Nanny! Out with it! We don't have time to drag this out."_

_I mean we didn't. We're going on a voyage and since we're under radio silence with the Alliance, we don't hear much and won't hear much. We don't necessarily know what we're flying into._

_And then we lost contact with Castle Control. I'm honestly terrified of what we'll find after all the dreams. And when Nanny realized this may be my last chance to reach you, she finally sat me down._

_I really didn't understand what she was saying to me at first. She was so upset. I've never seen her this upset in all my life and she has never been away from me._

_She says in my case the one who hears me is my prince. Not a friend, not a loved one but my prince. I didn't understand and she confused me more than once while trying to explain everything to me._

_What it boils down to is that according to her you are now a Prince of Arus. A prince! And not just any prince. The prince that I have always been meant to find since the moment I existed._

_I told you I couldn't leave you behind._

_I'm so lost right now. No one ever told me anything about these things. Growing up, I believed that they were myths._

_Come to find out, finding your other half is rare. My father heard my mother when she was still a child, it took him meeting her face to face for it to start._

_My eldest brother heard Gally when they were both twelve. Coran heard his wife when he as a small child and they grew up together._

_The point she made is the moment we found each other we should not have been separated._

_Here I am on the way to to a world that is almost as far away from Earth as you can get and still be in Alliance Territory._

_She also told me it explained why I've been so sick. I still don't understand it all and probably won't until I've spoken to my parents. She insists this is a conversation that I must have with them._

_Keith, I'm scared. I feel that leaving has set in motion something horrible that I cannot stop, that I may never see you again. That we'll never know what this is or why this is happening._

_You promised me that you would come for me. Please come for me. Please be safe._

Keith felt something twist in his chest. "What do we know about this?"

Charles sighed. "Actually, I didn't quite believe it myself. I didn't trust this information with anyone. I did some digging in the archives and this is what I've found."

Keith stared at the data pad that was placed before him and shook his head. His soul felt like it was burning and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"Keith, we've got some trouble coming our way. In some ways this changes everything for you, but in other ways it changes nothing."

He nodded as he read. "So this thing says that even if I'm not acknowledged by the crown, that I'm a Prince? We're not even married and I barely know her. How does something like this happen?"

Charles coughed. "Technically, you are married."

Keith's jaw dropped. "So you are telling me that I'm married to a woman who I met once and barely talked to?"

Charles nodded. "You should have invited us to the wedding."

Keith wiped a sheen of perspiration that formed on his brow. "I don't have a say in this?"

Charles shrugged, "apparently not."

"What if I was already married? What if I had a family of my own? Children? What would happen then?" He was on his feet, pacing for several minutes as he continued to read. When he reached the end of the document he felt green. By being heard he was married, without consent, to Princess Allura of Arus. Had the Embassy been staffed, he would have been able to reach out to the King through the Embassy to claim his bride. They had no other choice. They couldn't fall in love with someone else, they only would be able to have each other from here on out.

Stopping in front of the fridge he snatched up a bottle of scotch. Pulling a glass from the dish rack he poured himself three fingers and slammed it back before pouring another two and returnign to his char.

Who was he kidding? Since the moment he saw her he knew she was the only one for him, but that didn't mean he wanted to be forced into it.

Did she even know? From the sounds of her letter she was still piecing things together.

He was on his feet again and retrieved a second glass and placed it before the Admiral who poured himself a small amount which he began to sip.

"So what happens now?"

Charles shrugged. "Not quite sure. We've reached out to Castle Control but there has been no acknowledgement. My guess is that Zarkon took out the communications array on Arus and that they have only portable satellite transmissions available."

Keith scowled at Charles. "Do I keep my command? My team? I still have four years on my contract."

"Honestly, son. We don't know yet. You've got an appointment with Space Marshall Graham at noon. Best not be too shit faced when you speak with him."

Keith laughed as he stared down at the amber liquid in his glass. He needed some of that liquid courage, but he couldn't rely on it. "Looks like I need legal representation as well. If we're married, she needs her benefits."

Charles sat back, folding his arms over his chest as he looked at his almost adopted son. While an adult for far more than fifteen years, he definitely looked far better than he had only a half an hour before they started talking. He'd perked up some and that was a relief. Another was that Keith was receptive to what was happening outside of his control. That on its own meant they'd avoid an intergalactic incident. "And then there is your own benefits. For the next two years she's under contract herself."

He sighed. "This is not how I envisioned my honeymoon."

"I don't think this is how anyone envisioned the youngest daughter of King Alfor of Arus finding her husband. At least she won't have to suffer the bride games."

Keith blinked. "Bride games?"

"An ancient Arusian tradition states that of a daughter of the crown did not find her other half by the time she was twenty-five that there would be a competition for her hand in marriage."

"Maybe it's a good thing that our favorite surgeon found someone. It didn't have to be me, but at least she doesn't have to go through that."

Charles shook his head. "Read the second document. If something does happen to you before the appointed time, she may still have to."

"Guess I can't die."

Charles nodded. "Keith, without the Arusian delegation here on Earth it is very possible you may be asked to take the Ambassador's seat in the Senate."

Keith choked on his scotch. "Senator? I'm just a pilot. You're telling me that I'm some sort of prince by association and that not only do I have that thrown in my lap they may want me to be a politician too?"

"We'll find out more when we speak with the Space Marshall. I'll make sure that Mariah and I are both there to support you. If you need your little 'brother' to join us, I'm sure that won't be a problem."

Keith watched as the Admiral let himself out. He wasn't sure if he should laugh, cry or break something.

After placing his glass in the sink he heard footsteps above his head. Hopefully Lance was awake. He'd be upset that he missed the chance to throw him a bachelor party.


	5. Chapter Four: Into The Dark Nebula

Hi Everyone!

The weekend is almost over for you, but just starting for me. I knew exactly what I wanted to happen next, but I don't think it's time for that reveal! So I will be making you wait and offering this chapter about Allura's journey into the Diamond Star Galaxy. It's a shorter chapter than normal, but the scene did not play out as though it needed more.

In GoLion the Galra Empire Rules the Dark Nebula which is surrounded by an asteroid belt that experiences electrical storms.

I'm borrowing a little from GoLion and placing the Diamond Star Galaxy inside of the Dark Nebula which means we have a bit of excitement coming our way.

That said, this chapter is very important for Hys and Allura. I wanted to make sure that everyone knows the kind of love between Governess and her Princess by offering insight into her live and her own personal journey in a way that will inspire our favorite lady during her coming trials.

Not much action in this from my perspective, but I love this story and hope that all of you will continue to love it too.

As to my reviewers! Dear "Guest" there is definitely more coming. Cubbie, Ebon-Drake, Paulina Ann, Limetwist, and Petite, I wanted to thank you all for the encouragement. Hopefully the craziness that I have planned will not let you down.

The Guardian  
Chapter Four: Into The Dark Nebula

Medical transport Jira came to a full stop outside of the Kundrah asteroid belt.

The mass of ancient planets that had collided outside of the Dark Nebula eons ago were known make for treacherous travel. Oddly enough, despite being in the vacuum of space, Allura could make out the endless electrical storm dancing in the distance.

The jump gate just beyond Ebb used to carry travelers safely to the Azure quadrant by bending space and time around them, instead they would be traveling through the nebula into the Diamond Star Galaxy deep within the nebula.

Allura worried her lower lip between her teeth. With no word coming form inside the nebula, this would be their last chance to contact Galaxy Garrison.

What she would give for her father to be there with her at this very moment.

Folding her hands before her, she bowed her head and closed her crystalline eyes. "Please God, give me strength to persevere."

"Princess?"

She turned, facing her governess.

Hys tried to not gasp when she saw her charge's face, but she wasn't able to hold it back. A pale face with glassy eyes met hers.

"I'll be okay, won't I?" She asked.

Hys rang her hands together. "Darling, this has gone on long enough."

Allura nodded weakly. There wasn't anything she could do. Hys was right. For now she had to stay as strong as she could.

Offering her golden princess a smile, she pulled a small leather bound book from the satchel she always carried at her side.

"Nanny, what is this?"

Hys smiled. "I should not be the one to tell you about the gifts of our people. The decision that was made for you, your sister and your brothers was not to tell you unless you had begun to hear. It is true that as a whole our people know of the gifts they have, and there are laws about them that protect those who hear, but for the most part it is not discussed. Those off world believe these things to be a myth and that our ancient laws should be abolished."

"I don't understand," Allura whispered in reply.

"My dearest," she said softly, cupping her cheek with her hand. "This book contains the letters I wrote to my own when I began to hear him. While these are my experiences alone in the struggle to find each other after coming into contact unexpectedly, they may offer you some insight into what you are experiencing."

She looked down at the old book that was placed into her hands. "I couldn't take this from you."

Hys shook her head. "No, but you are not taking. I am gifting. Come, let us fix ourselves some lunch and we'll start at the beginning together."

Allura nodded as she felt the ship lurch forward toward the asteroids. "I would like that."

The ship shuddered violently and an alarm chimed.

Curiosity and her nerves getting the better to her so told Hys she would meet her in the galley as soon as she spoke with the captain.

Hys nodded and watched Allura wander off with the leather bound journal clutched to her chest and the princess felt her eyes on her all the way to the lift.

With a small and a wave, she slipped inside and felt it carry her up three levels before the doors opened.

It was then her training as an officer kicked in. "Captain. Permission to come on deck."

Jenson nodded and motioned her forward. "I'm not sure if I should be addressing you by rank or title on this flight."

Allura bit back a laugh as she took in the grizzled man's appearance. "Just Allura, though I would prefer Lulu, but you already know that."

"Of course."

She moved forward to exam the telescanner and sighed. "The Space Goddess must be angry," she whispered to herself.

"No, just what we expected on our journey. We've skirted the asteroid belt as far as we can and we'll be entering here, where it is the thinnest."

She nodded as she analyzed the map. "But?"

He sighed. "Without satellite or fixed communications array, once we enter the Nebula we won't have the ability to reach Galaxy Garrison."

"So, once we go through, we'll be without any sort of hope for assistance unless we're able to raise Castle Control?"

Jenson nodded.

She could tell he didn't like it. She didn't have to tell him that she didn't like it either.

"Worse, our scanners aren't able to penetrate the nebula, it is very possible that we could come through and find ourselves face to face with an imperial fleet."

She took a deep breath and shook her head.

"In all honesty, I have my orders, but I should be asking you if we returning to Ebb, or do I contact Galaxy Garrison and inform them that we are entering the Nebula."

Allura stared at the viewer. The selfish answer would be to turn back. The selfish answer would mean she would be able to send for him. Her father had ordered her home. Her family needed her.

"Captain, while my heart would like nothing more than to return to Earth, my father has ordered me home."

He nodded. "Would you like to be on deck when I contact the Space Marshall?"

She shook her head. "No."

"You're certain?" He asked.

"I think it's time to prepare for what I will face when I finally reach my home. I'm sure you can understand that - "  
He held up his hand and nodded before she left. This time her destination was the galley.

It was official. She was about to embark on the last leg of her journey and there was no going back.


	6. Chapter Five: Knights At The Round Table

Hi there!

More of our story unfolds. I feel horrible that you all are worried about my short chapter and what could possibly be coming for our fair Princess and her 'Husband'.

I always welcome feedback and reviews. They've been encouraging and helping me to keep writing.

Without further commentary I bring you an encounter between Keith, his 'adopted' family and Space Marshall Graham.

The Guardian

Chapter Five: Knights At The Round Table

Lance shifted uncomfortably in the conference room chair. A cross from him Keith sat, just as stoic as ever next to his mother. To his right was his father and at the head of the table, Space Marshall Graham himself.

He wasn't completely sure how they were able to get his mother into a closed doors meeting like this, but he wasn't going to argue the point. Keith clearly needed his second mother and he could tell by the way he was holding himself, there was a tick. If you didn't know him as well as Lance and his family knew him you would miss it.

So far, he'd learned more about the situation on planet Arus than he thought possible. Voltron was real. Voltron protected the planet. Zarkon wanted Voltron. Alfor denied Zarkon and after years of a tentative peace, Zarkon was invading.

They were certain that the attacks on Arus had been devastating and Keith's wife, formally married of not, was flying blind into it.

Lance didn't watch the screens as Graham spoke, instead he watched his brother. By the look on his face, Lance expected him to be sick.

"We've just received confirmation that the Jira is entering the Dark Nebula."

Keith blinked. "Why didn't you recall them?"

Keith had been mostly silent until now only nodding and shaking his head. They all knew why the Jira wasn't recalled from her deep space mission. They also hadn't expected any contact from the small ship.

Graham didn't answer.

"I wanted to show you the last transmission we received from Arus."

Keith blinked. Her letter said they hadn't been in contact with Arus.

"How?" He asked.

"The Jira boosted the signal when they crossed into the Nebula much like their communications array would have."

Keith nodded and they watched.

It was surveillance video of some sort, no sound. Everything looked serene from the vantage point the transmitter offered.

A bustling city nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains. Lance noted that nothing seemed out of the ordinary until a massive man shaped shadow passed over the city. There were flashes of light and then the entire screen went dark.

When the image returned the city was gone.

Lance gasped and his father cursed under his breath.

His mother was crying into her hands and Keith's hands balled into fists. This meant more than just what they were seeing.

The ground was for miles was scorched. There were no remnants of the city itself. Everything above the ground was just gone.

Keith paled and excused himself for a moment from the table. All eyes were on the newly appointed prince who walked over to the glass of the conference room window to father himself.

Lance excused himself as well and joined him.

"Lance, what if she was there?"

"Goldilocks wasn't here. She's on a medical transport," Lance said carefully, making sure he had Keith's eye contact. He saw soemthing in Keith that was beginning to boil over.

He was watching Keith with a critical eye. They'd seen a lot together over the years as part of a tightly knit black ops group. Sure they were second string, the Bravo Company, but that didn't mean they weren't in the thick of it as much as the Alpha or Charlie teams.

"It's just like her dream."

Lance blinked. "What dream?"

Keith looked over his shoulder for a moment and tried to shrug off the worried glances he was receiving from Mariah McClain.

Lowering his voice Lance heard Keith explain about her nightmares and the more Keith talked the more Lance felt sick. "You're certain she saw this in her dreams?"

Keith nodded.

Putting things together, Lance realized the humanoid shaped shadow was Voltron. If Allura and now Keith's dream showed Leonne being decimated there was a chance that the remaining bits and pieces that they were both dreaming could come to be.

Squeezing the commanders shoulder for a moment before they returned to the table, Lance made sure to watch Keith as he moved.

Everything in his body language was wrong. It was one hundred percent not characteristic of his brother and best friend. Keith always was able to compartmentalize what was going on around him. This Keith, the one that seemed to grow out of his brother almost overnight looked almost defeated.

There would be time to help Keith clear his later, but for now Lance returned to the table, his eyes glued on the Space Marshall.

"So, what's the plan," he finally asked. By speaking up he drew an uncomfortable glance from his father and a glare from Graham.

He watched as the Space Marshall turned around in his chair for a few moments. Lance guessed the grizzled old man was taking a moment to compose himself.

When he turned back around, Lance felt as though he had been punched in the gut.

"Lieutenant, we do nothing."

The look on Keith's face darkened and Lance watched has his mother grabbed his hand.

"Unless we receive a request for aid from the crown directly, there is nothing we can do."

Charles McClain shook his head.

Keith's rage boiled over and Lance fought off the urge to duck and take cover under the round table.

Charles cleared his throat.

Lance looked back and forth between Keith and his father, a confused look on his face.

Charles McClain cleared his throat again and then Keith jumped. Had his father kicked Keith?

"What if I'm requesting that we send aid?"

Lance blinked in surprise. He knew that his brother and the princess were technically married, but did that make him, his thoughts trailed off and his mouth took over. "Keith's married to the Princess. Their laws make him a prince. He can request aid for them."

Graham sighed. "Not without a member of the embessy to vet your position as her majesty's husband, or her majesty herself here to offer you the crown."

"This is bullshit," Lance finally shouted. "You know it! You all know it! Here you go, have a true love. Be a prince, get ready for responsibility, but hey guess what. It's a all a joke because it doesn't mean anything because the people you need to designate him a prince are off planet and aren't able to respond to any sort of request for contact."

The Admiral didn't say anything, but the way Keith's jaw clenched, Lance knew he was right, but there was no way they could change anything.

"And until then," Keith asked, "we just let them die?"

Graham shook his head. "We cannot just send our forces into the Dark Nebula without being requested."

Keith stood. "Legal is all taken care of. But if anything happens to my wife -"

"Son!" Admiral McClain cried in warning.

"If you don't mind, I would like to contact my grandparents. They deserve to know what is happening."

Lance watched Keith leave. His mother followed him out, shaking her head as she walked.

When the door closed his father stood, knocking his chair back. "Space Marshall, these boys need to be deployed as soon as possible, to Arus. If the senate heard you denied the request of a prince of another world, all hell would break out. We barely hold our fragile peace as it is. Official or not, that man is my son and a Prince of Arus."

Graham nodded. "I understand exactly how you feel, Charles. But at the same time, I can't send one of our best special forces teams into the Black Nebula because one of them happens to have magically become a prince of a planet inside of it. We have to think of the bigger picture, of the lives your team could save and of the lives that would be lost if your team was no longer available."

Lance growled under his breath and left. He couldn't just sit there, or stand there knowing that there was nothing that they could do. Their team was down two men, not just him until their relief pilot arrived. Worse, Keith was now compromised. He knew they wouldn't be able to trust him to make an informed decision with his wife in danger even if he didn't know her the way he should know a wife.

Figures it would be his brother that would fall in love with a beautiful princess that happened to be his soul mate.

Love at first sight, he never believed in it before, but now he did. Maybe there was hope for him after all.

Now he just had to have enough hope to keep Keith going until they were able to reach her.

He sighed, at least he'd have a bachelor party even if his brother couldn't.


	7. Chapter Six: Lost in Space

Hi ya'll!

You will be very relieved to hear that the next chapter is close to being cleaned up and ready to post. Some of you may want to go back and re-read the earlier chapter which discussed how Allura and her people were being separated. While it will make all the more sense to use as readers, it definitely does not make much sense to Keith.

I hope that you enjoy this monkey wrench thrown into the mix of things and that you have a fabulous day.

The Guardian

Chapter Six: Lost in Space

"Eleven days," Lance said with a scowl on his pointed face.

Keith nodded. Eleven days since she had ordered his tactical officer grounded for a minimum of ninety days additional days. Eleven days out of ninety and he didn't know how long his friend would last experiencing life in the slow lane.

"At least your on your feet," Keith said. The look on his face told his friend that he shouldn't be complaining.

Lance scowled at him. "Barely. At least I don't feel like I'm gonna die if I move. Better yet, at least I'm not sitting in on anymore meetings with you, mom, dad and the Space Marshall."

Keith nodded. It was good to see Lance getting back to his old self. It wouldn't be long until his Lieutenant was planning his normal shenanigans. As long as his pranks left out the senior officers, he'd likely get away with it because of his father's position.

"But your different," Lance suddenly said as he gently lowered himself to the couch on the opposite side of the room. "I still can't believe she's a princess."

Keith glared at Lance. Best friend or not, he wasn't one to open up about his personal life and Lance knew it. The closest to sharing his personal life with his best friend and self appointed little brother was a few brief comments about the dreams she had shared with him. "Not just any princess, Lance. I'd rather not talk about it."

Lance shrugged. "Just because you went end had a crush on a princess that you wanna get icky sticky with doesn't mean that you shouldn't talk about it."

Keith nearly growled in response and Lance's brows raised curiously before sighing and leaning back in the desk chair he'd been occupying since they'd been assigned semi-permanent quarters. He didn't want to talk about it, but Lance would drag it out of him kicking and screaming if he had to. Ignoring the distant insistance that echoed in his mind, demanding that he watch and prepare, he fought against the nervous sick feeling that had only gotten worse in the last week and a half.

There were moments he could almost feel her as though she were beside him. Zarkon's hit taken out on her and her entire family was more than enough to leave him fighting the gnawing worry in his gut. Worse is what could happen to him if the wrong party found out about who he was to the youngest princess of Arus. He, Lance, Hunk and Sven had talked about keeping the situation under wraps and from their new candidate. Lance had said something like 'no wonder my old man and the Space Marshall have their panties in a twist.'

Keith scowled just thinking about it. His dreams had been terrifying and left him shaken even though he had combat experience.

When she told him about her nightmares, he had tried to brush them off. Then he had them too. Voltron being destroyed, cities vaporized, a king beheaded, a pregnant queen run through and even a funeral procession.

Horrible didn't begin to describe what he saw.

The hardest part was her face. More than once he saw her on a shuttle heading up to Mier III, tapping furiously away at her data pad, arguing with the woman at her right. Hearing their words each time left him choking for his own breath.

She was never meant to leave without him. Slowly more of the puzzle pieces were coming together even if he didn't knew what picture that the pieces were supposed to make. Her letter had been another, and then the dreams that he was having. He wondered if she was having them too. Was she dreaming about flying in a giant robot Lion that looked like it was a part of Voltron like he was?

Was that what he was supposed to be preparing for?

Even if he did, it was not like he could do anything about it.

Lance's phone buzzed in his pocket and after reading the message on his screen he went white as a ghost.

Keith watched him dive for the remote to the television in their 'home office' and winced as he straitened and turned it on.

Tuning to 218 he and Keith began reading the ticker across the bottom as GANN cut into local news.

He felt numb as they were warned that the footage they were about to see was graphic. Della, the same woman he'd seen baiting the Arusian analyst was pale. When she reiterated that the content was graphic and young children should not be permitted to see it he sucked in a breath.

Thrown at the foot of Zarkon's throne was a familiar man who faced a camera. He stood between the king and a woman wearing a pink blouse and pants. Her golden head was bowed and he could tell by the way her shoulders quivered that she was crying.

"Sacci?" Keth asked, recognizing the man who had dragged Allura from the hospital and then interrupted their brief meeting at the Arusian Embassy.

Fear gripped him.

"What's a Sacci?" Lance asked.

"Her guard," he answerd through gritted teeth.

"Her guard? You mean Zarkon has her? How did he get her to Doom so fast. They destroyed the Azure gate!"

Keith's hands fisted, his trimmed nails biting into the flesh of his palms.

"Lance, you know we're working on portable jump technology. If we have something like that, Zarkon probably has it too."

Lance looked from Keith to the television and felt lost. There wasn't anything he could do to help his friend.

Keith was helpless, absolutely helpless. He could hear her screaming in the back of his mind, sobbing as though she was watching just like he was.

Please stay strong, he called out even though he knew she was to far away to hear him.

"Keith, that's her! You mean that old blue and scaly has her?"

He couldn't answer.

He watched as Zarkon stood triumphantly at the top of the dias, his scepter held high in victory.

Around the dias his soldiers cheered. The Empress, Tantai, stood silently at his side, her golden head bowed thoughtfully.

He could hear the king crying out to his people in the ancient Drule common language which was subtitled for their benefit.

"Already we have cut off the hand of Alfor the Lionheart. And today we destroy his spirit. What say you to your master and king."

She didn't answer, which only served to enrage the King.

Sacci took only two steps toward the king before a laser blaster burned a hole through the back of his neck offering him a swift and silent death.

He watched her flinch and scrambled to her guard and friend, rolling him onto his back and for a moment touching his face before pushing herself to her feet.

Despite keeping her head down, she refused to bow down before the demon king of Doom.

Zarkon roared, his angry laughter and taunts barely translatable.

The Emperor descended from his throne on high, mocking the child of his enemy with every step.

She was helpless.

He felt helpless.

The helplessness was boiling within him and his whole body began to feel numb, his mouth and nose watering with the thickness of her grief.

This couldn't be happening to them. It couldn't happen to her.

He bit the inside of his cheek as Zarkon back handed her, sending her sprawling onto the cold tile.

The crowd cheered. The Empress shook her head and looked away, toward her son who watched from the sidelines in stony silence.

Laughing, Zarkon raised his hands before motioning for his son to step forward.

Keith watched as the hybrid stepped forward and passed his helmet to a red haired girl who was nearly naked. She bowed her head and scurried backwards away from the prince and the king. He did notice that the prince was moving much slower than he would have anticipated. There was a strange change to the normal swagger he'd seen on surveillance videos that carefully held the pain he must have been feeling following the surgery his princess has performed only weeks before.

The king motioned to his son who stepped forward and pulled the princess of Arus to her feet.

He looked her up and down and tore her blouse from her body before knocking her feet out from under her.

Golden felinoid eyes closed slowly for a moment after making eye contact with her before drawn his lazon sword.

She closed both eyes for a moment before opening them. It was as though both the Crowned Prince of Doom and the youngest daughter of Arus had a silent understanding.

When Keith realized the demon's spawn wanted to kill the princess as much as she wanted to be killed, something changed.

The whole dynamic was wrong. He sheathed his sword and shook his head. He declared in common, "I will have no business murdering women and children."

Keith blinked in confusion. Lotor the Conqueror would not kill a woman or make sport of her for the entertainment of his people?

He watched as Lotor motioned to his father, clearly not wanting to kill the girl on the floor before him.

Zarkon unceremoniously pushed his son aside, missing the slight gasp of pain that escaped the silver haired man.

"Let no man or woman stand before me in defiance. Let none defy me, my kingdom or the power of my empire!"

The crowd cheered.

The prince of Doom turned his back and walked away.

"I am the Imperial Emperor! I am the King! I am the ruler of the universe. I am Daibazaal Zarkon and Alfor will feel my wrath one child at a time!"

And in a flash, the kings scepter was buried in the heart of the princess of Arus.

Let the empire know that not even a pardon offered by my own blood will be granted.

To his surprise the screaming in his head didn't stop. _No! Not Jules! Not Jules and Sacci no!_

Keith and Lance both let out a cry of surprise. Zarkon was cruel, but killing a bargaining chip was a waste. Worse, he killed her for sport just like he killed slaves in the arena.

The woman with the bunny covered surgical cap would never heal another child, never again coax a life back from the edge of the river Styx.

Fury burned within him. She couldn't be gone. He couldn't accept that this was their fate, her name escaped his lips in a broken whisper. "Allura..."

"Keith?" Lance asked.

The commander stood in stony silence. His eyes squeezed shut, hands fisted at his sides.

When his eyes opened again he took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "Just like that," was all he said.

Lance nodded. "Just like that."

"How do you watch and prepare for something like that," he asked.

Lance shook his head. "I don't think that you can."

Despite knowing in his head she was gone in his head she was gone, he couldn't feel as though she was gone in his heart. How could he when there was still that ever instistant voice whispering in the back of his mind.

You must watch and prepare.

_Watch what_, he thought to himself before demanding: w_atch her die? How does that help me to prepare for anything!_

_You must watch and prepare. _Came the distant response.

"Keith?" Lance asked. The thought of comforting his best friend was awkward. They were a bunch of men. Men didn't wear their emotions on their sleeves like women did. The didn't hug, hold hands or sob openly.

The dark haired Commander swallowed back the lump in his throat. "I'm going for a run."

"Sure. Do you want me to call Sven?"

Keith shook his head. "I need to be alone."

Lance sighed. "You know you couldn't have stopped this, don't you?"

The glare he received told him that when it came down to it, Keith Kogane believed he not only could have saved her, but that he could have put a stop to the suffering she had been experiencing. "I couldn't have stopped this alone. But maybe, just maybe if the Space Marshall listened to anything I've said..."

_You must watch. You will prepare. You will save our world._

Keith sneered at the voice before answering the call. _You will stop torturing me! I will never heed you again. He took her! She's gone and you can't change that!_


	8. Chapter Seven: Bullet err Laser Proof

Hi Everyone,

I am so excited for this chapter. Not only do I have a musical moment featuring our favorite Princess, I also pay a brief tribute to another one of World Events Productions series, Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs since it always made sense that these two amazing worlds were in the same universe.

Thank you again to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and favorited my story. It is definitely a pleasure to write for you.

Have an amazing night and hopefully there will be more for you in the next day or two.

The Guardian  
Chapter : Bullet, err Laser Proof

"It's been three years since I've been in a cockpit and you want to jettison us into combat with minimal ballistics as a drop off? Are you kidding me?"

She wasn't one to panic. She'd always kept a cool head, but now after over a month cooped up on a medical transport without being able to reach her home or Keith she was at her breaking point.

Hys even looked nervous. "Are you sure that this is a good idea?"

"If you're making it home from this ship, your highness, it's the only way."

Allura swallowed hard and glared at Richy. "You're supposed to be my body guard and you're supposed to get me to the surface alive."

Richy scowled. "I got a wife and two daughters. No way I'm leaving this ship and getting stranded on a planet in the middle of the Dark Nebula that no longer has a space port!"  
She turned red with anger. Sacci never would have abandoned her, but now he was gone.  
They'd seen the broadcast. Now she was supposedly dead, at least it meant Zarkon wasn't actively hunting her. But what was it doing to Keith?

She shook her head to clear it. "If I ever make it back to Earth I will attend your court marrial for disobeying direct orders."

"Honestly, beautiful, I look forward to it."

Hys slapped him.

Allura blinked in surprise and then started laughing. It felt good to laugh. She needed to laugh and had so little to laugh about these days. Richy shrugged and waved goodbye before leaving the shuttle bay.

After she finally stopped laughing, she looked over the supplies that had been loaded into their ship. In addition to medical supplies and their belongings, there were multiple portable transmission devices. As long as she kept them charged, and used them during the spring months when they're orbit was closest to what they called the extraction zone, they could send messages through to the Alliance from Arus without their communications array.

At least she would have a way to send messages to the Alliance and if she was careful, directly to Keith. There was no way to receive messages back, but at least she could tell him she was alive.

Her eyes burned with unshed tears. "Poor Jules and Sacci," she whispered. "Sacci would want to be here. We haven't seen Arus in almost two years and now he never will see our world again."

Her governess sighed and squeezed her shoulder. "There is no telling how long it will be before we hear about the others. We must remember to pray."

She nodded slowly. At this point the members of the Embassy who had hoped to return home with their transport had agreed to return to Earth to ensure their people were properly represented in the senate. It was a decision she had made without her father's consent, but she felt it was the best one.

Oddly enough Hys had insisted that there be an official representation of the crown on Earth.

She hadn't explained why, but she told her that Keith would need it. If anything they could tell him that she was alive if messages to Galaxy Garrison weren't successfully received.

They made the decision several weeks ago while traveling through the asteroid belt into the Dark Nebula and because of it Allura had added her own letters to Keith at the end of Hys's leather bound journal. Hys herself left a letter for the new Prince and noted that by reading Allura's letters in the second half of the journal he may find ways to connect with her despite the distance between them.

She watched as Hys strapped in and swallowed down the lump of fear in her gut. _Can you feel it_, she thought as she directed her hope and fear toward him. _Can you feel it? The love in this place, in my heart, so far away, can you feel it?_

Greeted only by silence she lay a palm on the shuttles hatch. "Please take us safely to the surface. I know that I'm going to be pushing you to your limits when I sink you in the lake, but we can do it, right?"

Hys watched her as she went through their pre-flight check list. Four other ships would be dropped into the Arusian orbit and make their way to the surface. If they were able to safely avoid the Drule fighters, under Voltron's watchful eye they should be able to submerge their ship in the lake and make their way through the underwater passageways to the hanger buried deep beneath what was once Leonne.

"We can do this, we'll make it."

Hys nodded and watched her harness herself to the pilots seat before plugging herself into her communications port.

She watched as Hys put her own headset on and smiled. "Sorry, Nan," she said, "you'll have to put up with some of my music. It helps me focus."

"Music?" Hys asked as Allura was cleared to launch from the medical transports bay.

She nodded and music began flooding her ears. "If they pick up on my signal, this is what they're going to hear, no communications between us and anyone else."

Hys blinked and then cringed. Allura was right, Hys could clearly hear the music blaring in her ears, and worse, she could hear Allura singing along over the music slightly off key as their ship was dumped into space. "You shout it loud, but I can't hear a word you say. I'm talking loud not saying much, I'm criticized but all your bullets ricochet. You shoot me down, but I get up."

Allura fired their thrusters. "I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose. Fire away, fire away. Ricochet, you take your aim. Fire away, fire away. You shoot me down but I won't fall, I am titanium! You shoot me down but I won't fall, I am titanium!"

As the music broke, she yelled over the instrumental break, "safe journey and godspeed."

Cutting the communication channel to their ship she aligned for entry and held her breath as the sun rose over the horizon line.

The ship lurched as the gravitational pull of the planet below drew them closer. Below them, the explosions of battle. She could only hope there wasn't a robeast monster between them and the Castle of Lions.

She kept singing, and attempted to raise the castle, only to be met by silence.

Shaking her head she focussed on the task at hand and attempted to contact Voltron, but the radio signals remained nothing more than static that crackled over the music roaring in her ears.

"What do we do now," Hys asked after pulling the headset away from her ears.

Allura shook her head. "We crash their party."

Hys squeezed her eyes shut as the music continued to thump in her ears and Allura dropped their ship into the atmosphere with three of the other supply ships in a line behind her.

A golden and fighter picked up on their signature and had pulled out of the skirmish it was involved in with a dozen or so other ships following it.

"Shit!"

Hys grumbled something about watching the princess needing to watch her language before realizing that they had enemies right behind them.

Pulling the emergency restraint over her head she reached across to help Hys with her own emergency harness and felt the ship jerk as they're aft shield took a heavy hit.

Hys struggled but was able to secure the secondary restraint while Allura went back to taking evasive action.

Her heart racing, her body raising against the primary and secondary restraints, she felt her adrenaline beginning to pump. It was the same feeling she felt in the OR when she was able to bring back a patient that was circling the drain.

Moving into a nose dive she rolled away from the dreadnaught class frigate before coming up under it and firing two of their small missiles.

In the wake of the smoke that billowed behind them Allura, dove down into the fray, barely missing the heads of the Voltron's lion shaped hands and feeet shot toward the dreadnaught.

"Little close there, big guy!" She yelled into the mic.

Voltron turned his head toward for a moment before his lion heads returned, his mouth forming an 'O' of surprise. Hearing the daughter of his king over short wave communications was definitely a surprise since his king was still mourning her death.

Corkscrewing down through the robots shadow, barely missing fighters and intercepting fire as they plummeted toward the surface.

Beside her, Hys was hyperventilating and turning a horrific shade of green, but she didn't have the time to help her.

Dodging blasts from the turrets Allura opened a shortwave communications channel. "Castle Control, Mockingbird, authorization Victor-Victor-Bravo-Niner-Five-Zulu-Alpha-Three requesting covering fire and clearance for splash down," she said calmly before switching seemlessly back to the music blaring in her ears. "Stone-hard, machine gun, firing at the ones who run, stone-hard, that bulletproof glass!"

"Please Castle Control," Hys sobbed into her mic, "please come in! This is the Baglady! Please come in!"

Their ship took fire, this time Allura hissed in anger as their after booster stopped responding.

They needed to get out of the air fast. With smoke trailing behind them they were a huge target and there was no guarantee she cold maneuver the damaged ship to the underground spaceport via it's normal lake entry.

"Mokingbird, Baglady, this is Castle Control."

Allura attempted to restart the aft thrusters and hissed as their engines began sputtering.

"Castle Control, Mockingbird, coming in heavy with no thruster control."

While her words were calm and came from the training she'd had years ago, she felt her heart thundering in her chest. This was not going well.

_Keith, your a fighter pilot, what would you do?_

Her eyes welled with frustrated tears. He didn't respond.

"Mockingbird, adjust heading ..."

The instructions she received were followed flawlessly until their engine cut out and all she had was a single retro booster.

Panic.

Looking first from Hys and then back to the console she let out a shriek.

_Keith! I've lost my engines. Oh God! We're going to crash!_

She screamed as they took fire and lost their rear shields.

"Control this is Mockingbird, we've lost shields and our main engi -"

Hys watched as Allura's eyes rolled back into her head. "Princess! Princess! Castle Control! Help! Help! She's lost consciousness!"

_I'm here, but how is that possible? This has to be a dream. I watched you die. You and Sacci are gone._

Hearing his voice in her head she let out a slow breath before answering. _I knew you would come._

The whites of her eyes began to glow as her hands moved over the controls, coaxing life out of their engines.

Hys' hands covered her mouth as she watched with wide eyed surprise.

The same glow in the princess' eyes flowed out of her hands and into the control console.

The ship was no longer loosing altitude, instead the engines ignited and the aft boosters again provided thrust.

The shot into the sky, avoiding enemy fire and used gravity to give them enough power to make the splash landing required to get them into the underground spaceport.

As the ship skidded to a halt, Allura gasped, her eyes fluttering closed as she slumped over in the pilots seat. 

* * *

On the other side of the universe, on the Hurokoa sector of the new frontier, Keith Kogane woke with a gasp. His dream had been so real. He could still smell smoke and ozone. He remembered the way the woman in the copilot's chair panicked, screaming for help over the communications while a a song blared over their headsets. "Bullet proof, nothing to loose," he whispered to himself. He'd heard that song before but couldn't place when or where.

He blinked away the confusion in his mind. She couldn't have been crash landing on a far away planet. It had to be his mind giving him the ability to save her, just like yearned.

"Cap?" Stolker asked from the bunk across the room. "You okay, Cap?"

He sighed and fell back against the pillows. Exhaustion was definitely not his friend. Worse, all he wanted more than anything was to hold the wife that was already lost to him.

"I'll be fine, Pidge. Just a strange dream."

"You have a lot of those, cap! Lance should be back from patrol soon. I think you and Sven are up for next? If you want, I could go with Sven."

Keith forced a smile. "No worries, shorty. I just need some fresh air, patrol will do me good."

Pidge shrugged and turned back to his datapad and made a note about the commanders dreams. This time, the commander had glowed and he could have sworn he heard a woman crying out for help. Maybe it wasn't the commander that was loosing it. Maybe it was a shared hallucination?

Ten minutes later, Lance and Hunk were back from their patrol. Hopefully they would have this assignment finished up soon. He hated this part of the frontier. Why they sent Space Explorers and not Star Sheriffs was beyond him. If he wanted to be a Star Sheriff, he would have signed up for the Star Sheriff Academy, not the Garrison Space Academy.

His eyes widened in surprise as he read over the classified article that he'd pulled off the outpost network. Apparently girl genius April Eagle had her designs approved for implementation. The robot itself was hidden as a cargo ship. It was brilliant really. Why didn't he think of that?

With a sigh, the young space explorer turned onto his side and closed his eyes, day dreaming of the days when he would be able to fly something like that the meccha the Star Sheriff had been commissioned to build and fight renegade monsters, robeasts of half beastmen. As he began to dream, the meccha turned into a mighty Lion and while he flew in his dream, he realized he was talking to the Princess Keith had lost. Worse, it was strange to realize that he was talking to her in his dreams and that he was conscious of it.

Maybe his dreams were just as crazy as the commander's. 

* * *

Hys shook Allura by the shoulders. "Princess! Please, my darling! Wake up!"

She had never seen anything like this before. It was as though she had been possessed.

"Please, wake up!" She shook her again. "Princess! You did it! We're home. I don't know how you did it, but you did."

She groaned and shook her head. "Nan, my head feels like it was split in two. Are we really home? The engines quite, thats the last thing I remember."

Hys nodded. "Open your eyes, dearest."

She blinked awake and flinched when the cockpit lights flooded her eyes. When they finally came into focus, she could see her sister, Leonine and her father running toward their ship.

"Lea. Father," she whispered, slipping the emergency harness over her head and unbuckling her normal restraints. "Father!"

Pushing herself to shaking legs she stumbled to the hatch which opened the moment she keyed her security code. Slipping outside of the ship she stumbled forward and nearly fell to her knees.

Hys slipped an arm under her shoulders to steady hear before she ran father. "Lea! Father!"

Walking forward to join them, Hys wiped her own tears from her eyes. "Your Highness," she said, offering a polite curtsey.

Alfor laughed and pulled her into their hug. "We thought," Lea said through her own tears. "Mother was so upset, we were worried she'd loose the babe."

Allura paled and wobbled on her feet. "A baby? Mother is pregnant?"

Leonine nodded as she squeezed her sister again. "Almost seven months. Only two more to go. She joked that since she was half a century younger than father that there was no reason she couldn't have more children."

Her body went numb and the world disappeared. Her mother was pregnant. It was just like her dream. Leonne was gone and her mother was pregnant. And that meant they would lose Voltron.

She gasped, forgetting to breath. Her father caught her by the shoulders as she slipped toward the ground.

_No! No! Please no,_ she cried out to the darkness. _You have to come back. I need you! It's coming true. I can't stop it! Please, come back._


	9. Chapter Eight: The Falling

This next chapter took a lot of doing. I wanted to take the time to translate the cultural splendor of Arus that I imagined for more than half of my life and to it justice.

What is my image of Arus and her history? We have the monarchy and a council of elders that is made up of clan chieftains who have a say in how the crown's influence is used. In the long run, the crown be outvoted by a 3/4 vote, keep in mind this is a monarchy and going against the crown will take hard work and diligence.

When it comes to the people I see something a kin to old Scotland/Ireland, complete with tartans and bagpipers marching on the battlefield to call warriors to war.

For me, this means more than just a cultural heritage, it means massed bands, the smell of fresh haggis, and highland games (which our bride games would be modeled after if it comes to it).

Emotionally, this chapter puts our fair princess through the ringer. As I said previously, we're going to be skipping forward quite a bit at times, and this is one of them.

The song played in mass bands that is mentioned in this chapter is a reel starting with The Siege of Bubrovnick. You can listen to it online at Spotify and I encourage you to listen and press play when you see the comment about the drones filling the air. [ Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band – The Siege of Dubrovnick / Carnage Drive / Megan's Lullaby / Lady Madelina Sinclair / Duncan Lamont / The Weasel's Cage / Philip Greer's Big Week / Bessie McIntyre] You can find it on Spotify and Youtube! The links just do not like me! It really does set the mood.

I hope you enjoy and do not forget the tissues!

...and I encourage you keep chocolate on hand for the recovery after this one.

The Guardian

Chapter Eight: The Falling

For three weeks Allura spent every moment she could outside of the operating room with her family. With attacks raining down from the heavens on a nearly constant basis there was never a shortage of trauma cases flooding the castle's surgical bay as well as the hospital that lay nearly a mile beneath their feet.

It also meant that she was physically and emotionally exhausted. So much so that she rarely had the chance to think about Keith.

When the long days ended and the night fell, she would often find herself feeling guilty for not thinking about him. At least with the raids slowing down and her people recovering slightly she was feeling physically better.

Her sleep, despite the warnings and horrible images came in spurts, occasionally refreshed her. Her sad smile often told of the adventures she dreamed he was experiencing. If they were real she would probably find herself in a state of constant panic since he continually put himself in harm's way to save his team.

She'd met his team, all of them accept for the young boy that now accompanied him. They call him Pidge and Shorty, never Darrell or even by his last name, Stolker.

The youngest amused her and felt like the little brother she'd never had before and most likely would never get the chance to have.

"Your highness," Coran called, drawing her out of her thoughts.

She blinked and wiped her exhaustion away and motioned for him to join her.

Behind the glass she was peering through was a small boy. He was nearly covered head to toe with bandages.

"One of yours," he asked.

She nodded. "Coded twice on the table. I didn't expect him to pull through, but he's a fighter. If infection doesn't settle in he could make it and have a full recovery."

"But?"

She closed her eyes for a moment before peering at the child's sleeping face. At only five he'd survived far more than any young one should. "No one else in his home survived the attack."

Tears pooled in her eyes and she cleared her throat before wiping them away with the back of her hand.

"The welfare group has been contacted?"

She nodded. "No other family on any continent. His family immigrated from their settlement on the New Frontier only a few years ago. They had hoped for an easier life and then the attacks started. There isn't even a clan to claim him or raise him."

Coran shook his head, "any records of family elsewhere?"

Her hands balled into tight fists. "Even if there were, there would be no way to get them here or him to them. Not with the end coming."

"The end?"

She sighed and worried her lower lip between her teeth, ignoring the question as a nurse on her surgical team passed a data pad to her. The boys blood work showed signs of infection and his temperature was already climbing. Signing off on a broad spectrum antibiotic she said soft prayer.

"The head injury was quite extensive. If he pulls through he may have no memory of his family. It could ease his burden."

"But -?"

Allura sighed. "He needs a family. Hila, will you send for Lady Hys du Llyons for me?"

The nurse nodded and scurried away.

"What is this talk about the end," Coran asked.

"I have watched and I have prepared. I'm still preparing."

Coran blinked in surprise. There was a time not too long ago, when Allura was a child that her father, Alfor, spoke similarly.

"Have you spoken to your father," he asked while they waited.

She nodded. "I am not to tell him about the visions themselves, only that I have prepared."

Coran sighed. "How much longer do you think?"

She bit the inside of her lip hard, flinching only for a moment. "Soon. Before the baby comes."

"So little time. Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Very sure."

They stood in companionable silence. Her thoughts wandering to Keith and back again.

What would he do if he was here? Would he take the child in? She had a whole household that could help see to his safety but she wasn't sure if she was ready to be a mother. It wasn't a decision she could make without Keith. If he found her, the presence of a child would affect his future as well.

"You sent for me," Hys said as she approached them from behind, her eyes taking in the boy who was kept in New Leonne's main medical facility beneath the ground.

Allura nodded and in response as Hys stepped forward, her eyes wide with surprise.

"He's just a little thing."

Allura nodded. "His family came from a planet out on the new frontier, they didn't survive last night's raid."

Hys' hands folded together before her heart. "The poor dear! Does he have anyone here?"

Allura shook her head. "No. He's alone and has no clan to rear him."

Hys turned her brown determined eyes to the Princess. "The he will be my own. My clan is strong. We will rear him and he will be my own."

Allura smiled. Somehow she knew Hys would feel the way she did. "His name is Michael. We won't have time to draw up the paperwork. Perhaps it would be better to wait to make these kinds of changes until he's awake. For now, we'll just make a note, a royal order of sorts that decisions for his well being will be in your hands. What do you think?"

She nodded and squeezed Allura's hands. "I think that it is time for me to be a mother again, but this time to my own."

"Only if I can be an aunt that can spoil him."

Hys nodded and then excused herself. She skirted around the princess and Coran before slipping inside, carefully taking the boys left hand into hers and began to hum.

"How did you know," Coran asked.

She shrugged. "I've watched and prepared."

He scoffed at her response and joined her on her rounds. "Are you off duty?"

She nodded. "I am. I won't be cleared to re-enter the operating room for at least twenty-four hours. Bailey said something about a lack of sleep impairing my judgement under pressure. If only he knew what I endured as an intern and a resident."

"What exactly did you endure?"

She sighed and answered. "Lets just say you learn to sleep in shifts and that I know for a fact your body makes alcohol after seventy-two hours of consciousness."

He watched as she swiped her security card that pulled her off the posted, scrolling duty list. "Princess, your father would like to speak with you."

She nodded. "Something I have time to change and shower for first? I smell like my OR. Blood, guts, gore and antiseptic -"

He shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. I'm sure he's a bit anxious to see you at this point. We've made him wait while you finished your rounds."

Stretching her arms over her head she managed a scowl before pulling the surgical gown off and tossing it into a hazardous waste bin. Leaving her plain blue scrub cap on her head she followed Coran to the lift that would carry them up into the bowels of the castle.

It took a good ten minutes for it to return to their level before they stepped inside.

"Does your father know about the Commander?"

Allura choked on her breath before nodding. King Alfor knew that there was someone on Earth, but not exactly what that someone meant to her. She was sure Hys had tried to get her parents alone over the last few weeks in order to discuss what she knew, but nothing had come of it yet.

"Good."

"Good?"

"They still haven't sat down with you?"

She looked him in the eyes and shook her head. "Do you really think any of us have had that kind of time?"

"Then you don't know that he's your -"

She held up her hand and cut him off. "He may be lost to me Coran. There's no guarantee that any of us will survive what is coming. Maybe, someday he'll be able to find me."

Coran shook his head. Audio and visual transmissions to Earth had been down for weeks, but the encrypted file that had come across his desk had taken him by surprise. Galaxy Garrison had updated the Princess' marital status and she'd been listed as the only benefactor to one Commander Keith Akira Kogane, leader of the Bravo Team, special forces assault team.

"Allura, please -"

"Coran, I don't know how much of this my heart can take. I don't think I will ever see him again -"

"Allura! He's your husband!"

She blinked. Her mouth went dry and her throat burned as her heart began to flutter erratically in her chest.

"My, my what?"

She felt faint. Leaning back against the metallic wall of the lift she slid to the floor and pulled off her pale blue scrub cap off her head.

Using it to fan herself she panted through a flash of warmth that spread through her body.

"Coran, we never -"

He chuckled and crouched down next to her. "Allura, I think this may be what your father wanted to speak with you about tonight. Because he can hear you, some of our older laws, ancient ones that most worlds believe belong to a fairy tale, apply to both you and him."

She blinked up at him, her eyes wide, her jaw slack.

"Do you ever wonder why Hys refers to him as your prince in passing?"

She shook her head.

"It is likely that someone alerted his command to what happened between the two of you and he has done the honorable thing."

"The honorable thing? How can becoming my husband without my knowledge or consent be the honorable thing?"

Coran shook his had and sat down beside her. With at least twenty minutes to go in their ascent it would be best to have it out with her before she saw her father.

"Allura, he is the other half of your soul. When they told him what that meant, he did the right and honorable thing. What we know as law here, may not have affected him on Earth, but he chose to honor you and our people by making you his legal wife."

"But that means if something happens to me -"

Coran caught her left hand, scrub cap and all and held it in his hands. "Child, you must have faith in you and in him. Right now the universe believes you are dead. Very likely he has received the same news. While we're not able to send audio or video to the Garrison, we can send nearly undetectable data messages from here to Ebb which will be relayed to the Alliance. These messages aren't able to be sent through constant streaming like we are used to, but if you send him a message, even though it could take a month or longer to arrive he will receive it."

She pulled her hand away, leaving him holding her scrub cap and drew her knees to her chest. "Why didn't anyone ever tell me about all of this?"

He watched her fold her arms over the tops of her knees and put her head down and simply cry.

"It was to protect you. Very few of us ever find one who can hear us. The fact that the one who hears you was several galaxies away means that you may have never encountered him in your lifetime. Our laws protect those who find each other because it is so rare."

She looked up, her eyes red, tears streaming down her cheeks. "What happens now?"

He smiled and ruffled her hair before placing the cap back onto her head. "Now, you learn more about your bond and talk to your father."

She nodded weakly. "Coran?"

"Yes, Princess," he answered as he helped her to her feet. The lift was slowing and the doors would be opening in only a few moments.

"Do you know if when I dream," she paused for a moment. "Do I see what he is doing when I dream?"

Coran rubbed the bridge of his nose for a few moments. "Other than what you prepare for?"

She nodded again.

"It is said that there have been those separated by great distances, and those by short distances, who when sleeping, are able to watch each other."

"Coran, when we crashed. I blacked out and I heard his voice. When I came too Hys was trying to wake me and father and Leonine were coming toward the shuttle. Is it possible? Did he?"

"Did he what, princess?" As the doors opened and he offered her his arm, she answered. "Does that mean he saved me?"

He only nodded, leaving her to her thoughts as the climbed the ancient stair case from the catacombs up into the castle proper.

"Do you think I could try to send him a message?"

Coran nodded again. "I would not attempt to do so without your father's approval. If it were intercepted the universe would know it was not you who died at Zarkon's hand."

"Daibazaal Zarkon," she hissed under her breath. The image of the demon king murdering her friend was still very fresh in her mind.

"It is best not to dwell on the darkness in our lives. If we are to have hope, we must look beyond the past and present and toward a future that could be born out of the tragedies we face."

They paused before the door to her father's office and he offered her a stately bow. "Your highness, Madam Kogane," he whispered.

She blushed a pretty shade of pink and offered a well practiced nod of her head before offering her hand.

As custom, he kissed the back of her right hand before heading off to do whatever it was he was meant to do that night.

She entertained her daydreams for a few moments before slipping into her father's study.

Recognizing Lord Kayhill, son of Diarmund McKuhn, she offered a customary curtsey. "Father."

Alfor let out a sigh of relief as the young Lord straitened to look down at the youngest daughter of Arus. She recognized pin on his tartan sash indicated his station as a Clan Chieftain. "My lord," she greeted through clenched teeth.

Kayhill bowed deeply. There was something in his eyes that she recognized as predatory. She'd seen it in Richy when he joined her detail and didn't like it or the way the lord's touch lingered on her hand longer than it should have.

Jerking her hand away, and turning her gaze to her father, and watched as he father dismissed the man who's clan held a council seat since before Voltron.

Alfor sighed and motioned her toward a pair of arm chairs near the fireplace. Normally it was her father and mother who occupied the chairs this time of day, but her mother was too swollen with child to do much.

When Kayhill left he let out the breath he had been holding before sinking into the chair beside her.

On the table, a data pad waited. She knew it had to do with her because he was staring at the tablet.

"Father?"

"The Lady Hys mentioned she thought you found the one who heard you. Your mother and I both brushed off her claims. We forget that you aren't the same little girl that we sent to Earth so long ago. Even now, with you saving the lives of our people from inside our castle and hospital walls I find myself forgetting that you are a grown woman."

She blinked and looked down at her hands. "No one ever told me about it before. I thought I was going crazy."

"The warnings, I had them just before the first invasion occurred. I watched and prepared, but now the warnings from our guardians are no longer seen or heard by myself or your mother. Now they belong to you. I know that this means time our growing short, and before you consider interrupting, no. I do not want to know."

"Father, why can't we try to prevent what I've seen?"

He sighed. "There were those who went mad trying to stop what they saw, but in the end, no matter what they changed."

He trailed off before picking the tablet up and staring down at the dimly lit screen.

"This here says that he has made you his wife."

She blushed. "I didn't know what it meant until Coran told me."

"I don't suppose I will ever have the chance to meet this Commander Kogane?"

She shook her head. "I don't even know if I will see him again."

He sighed. "Know that no matter what happens, I will watch over you as long as there is breath in your body."

She nodded.

"Now, that said. There has been a call for bride games for your sister and with the war and the state of our affairs, there was also a request that your hand be offered in the games."

She laughed. "Good thing I'm a married woman?"

He nodded. "Though Leonine is not so lucky. She always wanted what your mother and I had, what your broth -"

He choked on the lump that rose into his throat and squeezed his eyes shut.

It was still hard for any of them to imagine her brothers gone. "I miss Gally, she used to send me the silliest messages about Larmina and the strange things she did. She said once that Larmina turned you into Mr. Mush Face."

He laughed for a moment before handing her the datapad.

She looked at the digital transmission. Keith really had taken care of her. She sighed and hugged the transmission after she saw the change to her own status. "Lulu Kogane," she laughed. "I need to do the same for him? Is it possible without alerting the entire organization to my status?"

He shook his head. "He was already awarded everything you had left behind, all of your assets."

"Does he really have to think that I'm dead?"

Alfor shook his head. "He dreams of you. You must remember that he could be watching us at this very moment."

She laughed, a small smile forming on her pale face. _Are you really watching me? Can you see me now?_

When silence greeted her, she scowled and then after a deep sigh she placed the datapad in her father's hands.

Her father's brow knitted together, deep in thought as he turned toward the window. Rising to his feet he found himself looking up into the sky.

"What do you suppose that is?"

She looked up and followed his gaze before letting out a choked sob. "No!"

"Allura?"

She watched as Voltron tumbled in the sky before surging forward with determination.

"You must recall him! Don't let this happen!"

"Allura?"

"I've watched, and I've prepared," she insisted, " but that doesn't mean I agree to just let this happen!"

"Child, we have no long range communication capabilities outside of very limited data transmissions. You know this. There is no way we could communicate with him now. What is it? What is it you saw?"

Throwing her arms around her father's neck she simply sobbed as he looked on. "It's the witch! The witch! She's going to -"

"No!" Alfor's eyes filled with fear as a great explosion in the sky nearly blinded him. All hope seemed to leach from his body as he watched five objects fall from the heavens above.

She turned to the glass and shook her head. She knew what she had to do. "It has begun."

"Allura?"

"I have to go. The patients in the castle, they need to be evacuated. I need to be in uniform."

"I don't understand. Allura what is happening?"

She looked over her shoulder, her face calmer than she would have ever thought. "It's happening. Zarkon is coming. Soon Helena, Altair and Ulda will share the fate of Leonne. Order their evacuation. We may not be able to save the cities, but maybe, just maybe we can save our people."

She couldn't watch the lions fall. She already knew what would happen. She'd seen it so many times.

As she marched toward her quarters, she knew that this could be the last time she saw them, or had spent time with her father.

Tears streaming down her face she felt them more than she saw them. Before her five spirits formed and swirled around her. She greeted them by name before the spirits raced off to join with their ships. "Kurojishi, Akajishi, Midorijishi, Aojishi, Kijishi..."

_Voltron has failed..._ her own voice echoed in the back of her mind.

Skidding to a halt in her quarters, she was surprised to find Hys waiting for her. Had she been with her father that long? With a sad look in her eyes, her governess offered her a combat uniform, cloak and circlet.

"How did you know?"

Hys sighed in response. "I had enough time over this last week to change the name for you."

Allura let out a sob and clung to her governess for a few moments. "It's horrible, Hys. It's really happening."

Hys nodded. "Once we get the rest of your patients down to New Leonne, I'll stay with young Michael. He'll be frightened when he wakes and will need a mother."

Allura brushed Hys' tears away. "Oh, Nan..."

"Do not fret yourself. If he doesn't show signs of waking I'll will join you."

She nodded and took the offered uniform. "Will you have my trunk and sea bag taken down?"

"Of course, my dearest. I'll make sure that they're left in your office."

Shedding her scrubs and slipping into the crisp uniform she found herself fingering the name tag. 'Kogane'. She laughed to herself. Something so simple was bringing her the briefest moment of joy in the darkness that threatened to press down upon her.

Slipping the cloak in place she proceeded to castle control. There, her mother, father, sister and brothers stood around the con with Coran.

"Zarkon is demanding a duel in the Valley of Zohar at high noon," her father announced. "Protocol dictates that our family attend and we will face him with honor. We cannot order evacuations until after we've departed for the battle field. If he sees us proactively sending our people into hiding.."

Allura knew what this meant. Her father would march from the castle for five clicks to the Valley of Zohar. Tradition dictated that pipers would make the journey, calling his men to rally behind him.

Their people would gather en mass to face the demon. It would be a brilliant thing to behold, but she knew that the while her heart would swell in pride at the vision her people would present as warriors in the light of the morning sun that it would turn to a vision of blood and devastation.

Allura felt bile rise in her throat. Her mother embraced her and whispered into her ear about how proud she was to see her 'my only' in uniform.

She still didn't know why they kept calling her their only. It pulled at something in her heart and in her head that made her angry.

"I'm not going with you, am I?" She asked.

Her mother squeezed her tight and winced as the baby kicked. "No, he believes he killed you. Your presence would mean if something happens to us that Arus would have no hope-"

She held up her hand and bit back her tears.

To her horror, the night passed far too quickly. When the sun peaked over the horizon her father and his knights had assembled with her mother, Leonine and two of her brothers.

Coran stood beside her on a balcony overlooking the bridge. He squeezed her hand and watched as the drummers lined up at lead with nearly a hundred pipers in front.

When the sounds of hundreds of drones filled the air, she wasn't able to stop the sob from escaping her lips.

The base drummers struck their drums while the snares rolled off. One, two, three, pause. One, two, three, pause. She knew that their feet were now moving with the beats of the bass drums now accompanied by tenors. One, two, three, pause. One, two, three, pause.

Her father bowed to her mother and she dipped in a shallow curtsey before they turned to face their kin. Her father bowed, she dropped in a curtsey.

Their guard went to attention. His father kissed her sister upon the brow and clasped arms with her brothers.

Bowing again to her mother, she tied a scarf around the hilt of his sword and Allura bit her lip.

The drums thundered through their cadence two more times. One, two, three, pause, one, two, three and the pipers struck their bags and the all stepped off, pipes singing The Siege of Bubrovnick on the breeze.

Her hands clutched over her heart she collapsed with a wail of grief and sobbed brokenly.

This was it. The end had arrived.

Only able to afford a few moments of weakness she pushed herself back to her feet, leaning heavily on the man who would soon be her own advisor she issued her first order. "Coran, father and our ancestors have prepared for generations for a time when our people would need to retreat to the safety of the cities we have been building and maintaining underground. We could not order evacuation when the challenge came. Zarkon must believe he has us right where he wants us. I hereby order the evacuation of Helena, Altair and Ulda. The evacuation of the Guile province will need to take place via underwater transport as planned. Our people are ordered to retreat via designated transit. By the time the mid-day sun finishes rising, I want the shields closed before the air strike begins."

"Are you certain?" Coran asked.

"I may not be able to stop this and our fates may be sealed, but I will save every soul I possibly can."

"Right away, your highness," he said, offering a short bow.

"Coran?"

"Yes, princess?"

She swallowed hard. "The council will meet tomorrow at sundown. Make sure the call is placed. There will be matters we have to attend to. My aunt will become the Dowager Queen until my husband arrives," she stutted for a moment before continuing. "If he arrives, but at the same time I -"

"As you wish," he stammered.

Forcing calming breaths in through her nose and out slowly through her mouth Allura turned to see Hys approaching, wiping tears from her eyes.

You can do this Allura. You can do it, she thought to herself before looking up to the sky. _I know you are out there somewhere. Are you dreaming right now? Can you see me now? I need to believe that you see me and that you are with me. It is all coming true. My world, everything is about to end and my husband isn't here with me. How does that work? How do I have a husband in a man I have seen only twice? Do you really love me? My father received a notice about my change in status. It took since you signed it to arrive. _

Her eyes moved back to the horizon. Soon the guard, joined by noblemen and women and other pipers and drummers would disappear over the horizon.

_Oh God, why can't I stop this! Keith, why do I have to let this happen? My father is the Lionheart and Voltron is gone. Why can't he bond with Kurojishi and just destroy Zarkon once and for all?_

She caught her quivering lip between her teeth and turned toward her Governess, "Nan, there is something else we must do before we join your Michael below..."


	10. Chapter Nine: Hope and Death

I was asked yesterday via reiew when Keith would man up and go after his woman. The time is nearly here. Today, things begin to change for Keith as he questions his dream which became recurring. In this chapter, we see more of the changes to Allura's life. We see her mourn, we see her show amazing strength and we also see her broken.

Part of this chapter is actually the original chapter that I wrote for this story. I hope that you enjoy it.

The music that inspired the start of the is post was inspired by The Gael, the pipe theme from the Last of the Mohicans complete with their massed bands. You can pick one of the amazing orchestrations of this from youtube to listen to if you'd like, however the one that I think works the best of from Spirit of Scotland Essential Bagpipe Anthems, The Gael performed by The Pipes & Drums of Leanisch. It's available on Spotify. Make sure to remove the spaces from the link below if you'd like to hear it. Looping this through re-reading this chapter gave it the punch I think it needed.

[open . spotify track/ 0DAmDHrsivRJO8Kzoi2Dvw]

The journey to Arus is near! Luckily the ambassador is going to ensure Keith is ready to face the council. Can you say, "Fab Five" in kilts? YUS please! (poor pidge... he's so young he may look like a girl...). If anyone out there is artistically inclined and wants to sketch Keith in a kilt holding a sword over his shoulder, I would be forever grateful for the cover art :D

The Guardian  
Chapter Nine: Hope and Death

The dream had started sweetly. Allura was dressed in a pair of light our scrubs, a pink scrub cab secured over her hair and scribbling something down on a data pad.

The small she was checking up on did not like to be fussed over and was drawing with his good hand. He couldn't make out what it was that the boy was drawing but he purposefully had squirmed to prevent Allura from checking all of his vitals until he stopped and sat back against the pillows.

"Okay, 'Lura, I'm ready now."

She forces a smile and sighed. "How are you feeling today Michael?"

"Nanna says I can't go outside anymore."

She watched him pout while she checked his bandages and stitches. Every little boy wanted robe on the surface and in the sunshine and this amazing little boy was no different.

"Nope, none of us can. Did Nanna tell you why?"

His lower lip trembled and tears filled his eye as he nodded.

"But I promise to try to not be sad. I have Nanna and she'll be my mom now."

Allura nodded. "She is sad that you needed a mother but is very happy to be your mother now."

"I wanted to get you flowers so I drew you some. Nanna said you're said like me for the same reason and I saw you cry."

She looked at the green and pink scribbles and took a few shallow breaths. They did look like flowers if she squinted her eyes and let them cross a little.

"Nanna says your mommy went away too. Maybe Nanna can be your mommy now and then you'll be my big sister."

His breath caught as he watched her sit down on the bed and pull the bandaged boy into her arms. "I would like that very much."

He watched them cry together and felt the need to pull them both into his arms but when he tried he passed through them. Despite not being able to feel them he could smell her shampoo and the clean crisp linens and antiseptic. "Allura," he whispered, please don't cry. "You're gone, I know you're gone. You shouldn't be hurting like this -"

He paused as she looked up, her eyes looking toward the place he was and blinking. _I hear you,_ her voice whispered in his mind. _Keith, I'm not gone. Jules was with Sacci. I don't know about the others but Coran says Roxxy's ship touched down in Helena last night._

"Your highness," a women dressed in black called gently from the doorway. "Minister Coran wanted me to inform you that it is time."

She squeezed her eyes closed for a moment before opening them. "Michael, Nanna and I will be back later. Misty will be in the nurse'a station if you need her and Yula will be down soon with your lunch."

He smiled up at her. "Do you like your flowers?"

She nodded. "They are the most beautiful flowers anyone has ever given me."

She kissed his forehead before slipping off the bed.

She watched him yawn and curl onto his side. If you were here I would have asked you if we could keep him, but I think Hys needs him just as much as he needs her.

He followed her through the corridor and into an office that had her name on it. It was cramped and filled with things he would have expected to be in her own quarters and was surprised to see blankets on pillows piled onto a couch with a cot near it.

Once the door shut behind her she pulled her scrub cap off her head and lifted the blue scrub blouse over her head. He winced. He knew she was said and that she was very upset, but she looked like she was loosing weight.

When she stepped out of the pants and kicked them aside he gasped. He never thought he would see her like this and despite the weight she'd lost she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

As though she felt him watching she blushed before turning toward the garment bag that hung on the back of her door. The gown and covering robe were both black as pitch and he hated to see her swallowed up by their folds.

Once the robe was in place she secured a silky sash over her shoulder. He recognized the woven tartan as the Remain family's. The lion pin that secured it to her was one he'd seen her father wearing in his dreams.

With her circlet upon her head she pulled on a pair of black gloves and slipped her mother and father's signet rings into her right hand before adjusting the vail and pinning it into her hair. The robes of the dowager queen hid her well. They were all they had time to prepare for her.

The knock at the door startled her. "Please don't wake up. I need you with me tonight."

He watched her open the door and nod to Coran. "We should move you to family quarters," he said as he offered her his arm. She shook her head. "Maybe after Michael is discharged. For now he needs his big sister and she needs him."

The older man nodded and Keith noted the dark circles under his eyes. "Did you want to stop by your father's tomb before -"

She shook her head no. "I'm not ready yet. I was there for the ceremony, but it will be some time before I can visit and not feel like I died with them. Today is -"

He nodded. "I understand. The weather is overcast and the survivors have gathered. Everything is ready and the council is waiting for you."

"I hope he doesn't wake up," she whispered.

"He's here?"

She nodded. "I know you and Hys will make sure I get through this, but I couldn't do this without him."

"I understand. Thank you for being here. I know that sleep walking such a distance is taxing."

Keith blinked. The old man was talking to him? His dreams were definitely getting the better of him.

He followed blindly until the reached a large cavern with a wall of steel at the other end. There were hundreds of people gathered. When she stepped out if dimly lit passage and into the torchlight they were announced.

"Her Royal Highness, Crowned Princess Allura Minuet Kogane. His Lordship Prime Minister Coran Raible." The man paused as a pair of women stepped into the light on the other side of him. "Her Majesty the Dowager Queen Orla Raiorie Remain, Her Ladyship Hys du Llyons."

The crowd which had been nearly silent before dipped into bows and curtseys. The pipers dipped their drones and the drums saluted. With the sea of endless faces lowered he could make out four carts carrying figures wrapped in white.

The moment he realized she saw them when he heard and felt her gasp. Her breath came in short pants and her cheeks puffed out for a moment as bile rose into her mouth before swallowing it down.

Nodding to an unseen guard the metal wall at the end of the cavern split in two and retracted into the wall. She moved forward with Coran supporting her and greeted each of the Clan Chieftains by name and offering words of support and encouragement until she stood between the masses and the carts.

Raising a hand, she signaled the pipe major who called his men and women to attention from beneath his towering, horned hat. He high stepped his way to the front of the massed band and lifted his staff over his head.

His staff jerked four times in the air. One-two, one-two. A single base drum thumped, one, two, three, pause. One, two, three, pause. The staff now parallel to the ground ten other staff carrying, kilted men and women high stepped their way forward and began moving in unison. Drummers, pipers, brass and winds all moved forward together.

With their pipes still dipped toward the ground, the procession stepped off together. Snares rolling, tams and base drums marking their pace.

When it was time to step forward, Hys and Coran pressed into the princess' sides, their arms reaching around her and nearly supporting her weight as her legs became weak.

Tears streaming from her eyes, her head bowed, they followed the bands and the carts out of the cavern and down into the forest.

They must have marched for nearly an hour, before they could see the precipice ahead of them.

To his surprise, they lifted the four silk wrapped bodies up onto the platforms.

Standing as tall as she could she stepped forward with her Aunt, whispering goodbyes to her brothers, her sister and her mother. When she finally stood and turned to face the masses she curtseyed to the masses gathered around her. A second curtsey to her aunt and then the pipe major and struck the gathered masses together and the sound of the pipes sobbed into the night sky.

Allura and her aunt stepped back away from the pyres. Dropping to their knees they both leaned into each other, their grief on display for those around them, but no one watched. They too fell to their knees. All but the massed bands dropped to the ground behind them as the pyres were lit.

Keith couldn't bear to see it anymore. He disappeared from the dream world as their ship touched down.

"Same dream," Lance asked, leaning against the bulkhead.

He nodded. "It's less real now, more like a memory and not like it was something that was actually happening. That and the new guard, he's not in it anymore. Other than that, nothing changed."

"You're certain she's gone," Lance asked. By the look on his face Keith knew that Lance was having one of those feelings again.

"We both watched," he answered softly before standing.

"Some deployment," Lance said, changing the subject as the others began to rouse. "Seven months out on the new frontier."

He sighed and to his surprise Pidge bounded into their traveling quarters. "Cap! You're not going to believe this! There's a welcoming party!"

Keith groaned and shouldered his sea bag, the others doing the same and following the youngest member of their team toward the ramp. Pidge was right. Waiting on the tarmac were several dozen people. One man, a graying fellow wearing a kilt that fell well passed his knobby knees paced.

"Maybe their expecting someone else today," Sven said before Hunk brightened up and asked, "Maybe that means there'll be some great food!"

Keith scowled. Leave it to Hunk to always be thinking of food.

He wiped the sleep from his eyes before stepping out into the waning sun.

"Keith, hey Keith! That's my dad and the Space Marshall."

Keith's eyes narrowed and realized that they were coming toward them, complete with the knobby kneed kilt wearing man.

"What's with the guy in a dress?" Pidge asked.

He sighed. "It's not a dress, it's a kilt."

"So it's a fancy type of dress?" Sven asked, trying to make light of the awkward situation.

"Not now," Keith hissed under his breath as Charles McClain singled him out.

The old man's eyes lit up and he raced forward. "Your Highness! Your Highness!"

Keith paled.

"We've been waiting for months, your Highness. You could have been injured. What if that happened?"

Keith, uncomfortable with the man's fussing found himself being pulled toward a waiting transport that quickly filled with his team, Mariah and Charles McClain, the strange old man and the Space Marshall.

"Your Highness -"

Keith held up a hand and groaned. "My name is Keith. You can call me Keith or Commander Kogane."

The man squeaked. "I can't do that your Highness. I'm your Ambassador to the Alliance and it would not do to call you by anything but your title."

Keith rolled his eyes and leaned back against the seat. "I thought the Embassy was evacuated?"

The old man nodded. "When the Jira reached Arus, it was decided by the Princess that my wife and I should return to Arus to ensure our people were still represented in the senate. When we arrived and found you deployed we demanded your immediate return, however your operation was classified and considered to be under communications silence."

The man fidgeted uncomfortably. "We have been back on Earth for nearly six months now. And it's been so long since the assassination of his Majesty. We've waited as patiently as we could -"

Graham silenced the babbling old man with a look that could have killed.

"This," the old man said, offering Ketih a paper wrapped book, "contains messages from her highness."

Keith's teeth ground together. "How can they contain messages when my wife died!"

"Keith, after you were deployed and the Ambassador returned, we found that the ship that was intercepted was not Allura's. Sacci left with one of her ladies whom he was engaged too," Graham said.

Mariah took her adopted son's free hand into her own. "Keith, all of her ladies serve as body doubles. The woman Zarkon murdered was a decoy. When the Ambassador left on his return journey she was very much alive."

He felt dizzy. "The dreams?"

"It is how you protect her. Most likely you see events in her life that occurred and then relive them because of the distance between you," the old man spoke.

"Your highness, there is much we must discuss. We need to - you need to see."

Keith groaned. He didn't want to see anything right now. "Do we know if she survived the invasion?"

Something in him was whispering that she had. There was nothing that would change that sudden belief that she was alive. He had to hold onto that.

"Not here. We'll be in a secured area soon."

Keith felt Lance clap him on the back. "I knew she wasn't dead!"  
He glared at Lance, his anger beginning to boil over.

All he could do was wait while the transport pulled into an underground parking structure.

When they piled out of the vehicle, the old man finally introduced himself with a stiff bow. "Hyrum Cormac, of the Clan Cormac."

Keith nodded as the man fell into step behind him. "What they are going to show you will not be easy. Once it is seen, it cannot be unseen," he said.

Keith shrugged and simply followed and a short time later took a seat around a large oval table.

He noticed that Mariah was not allowed entry and scowled. If he ever needed a mother it was now.

The lights were brought down and a transmission began to play.

There she was, fumbling with a video transmitter, inputting the coordinates for Ebb and directing the transmission to him! But he never received the transmission, it had been intercepted because he was deployed.

The camera caught the name tag. The font was wrong but he saw his name, their name in capital letters as the camera moved up her body, panning over her uniform before settling on her face.

He the way she held the transmitter at arms length that it was almost like a bad selfie. The camera was shaking and her eyes were wet with unshed tears, in the distance he could hear music. Drums and bag pipes.

"Voltron has failed," she said softly, her voice barely a whisper. "Even now my father marchers to Zohar with my mother, my brothers and my sister to face the demon in a duel. We all know that Daibazaal Zarkon has no honor and that he will kill my parents."

"Allura hurry, the shields will be closing!"

She looked away for a moment before catching her lip between her teeth. "Zarkon believes he killed me and I have been entrusted with the well being of my people. Of our people."

She knelt down, tears catching in the sunlight as they fell. "It is not safe to come. We do not have the ability to protect ourselves above ground and Zarkon will annihilate anything that lives on the surface of our world. I've ordered the evacuation but there is no guarantee that my warnings, in the place of my father's will be heeded."

She looked up, her eyes widening as she pulled the cloak over her head, covering her hair, circlet and face. "I haven faith that one day Voltron will rise again to protect our people, but until that day, I will watch the stars for you. Do not come for me. Pray for us, for our world is slowly bleeding to death."

She touched her fingers to her lips and then pressed them to the lens before bolting into the trees, the cloak billing in her wake.

The image continued to record and transmit, even after the small device was found and carried off by a soldier only to be passed to the demons spawn, Lotor.

It continued recording the clash between Zarkon and Alfor, blow for blow until Zarkon cheated. Throwing sand into the face of his adversary he finally swung his sword and severed the Arusian King's head from his body before turning onto the pregnant Queen and his children in blood lust.

When it was over and Zarkon was shouting in victorym there was a panic. The people of Arus gathered in the valley with their king began to flee for their lives as transmitter was crushed beneath Lotor's boot.

"When did you receive this," he asked when he was finally able to compose himself.

"Four months ago," the Space Marshall provided. "Without direct communications array, the portable transmitters she took to the surface from the Jira take nearly as long to reach Ebb before the signal is boosted and transferred to head quarters for distribution.

"Why wasn't I immediately notified," he asked.

"The recording had to be vetted and there was guarantee that anyone who made it to the underground cities survived the raid."

"Why," Lance asked, "would you show us now?"

Charles McLain passed Keith the data pad he had left behind during the mission. "Because this arrived this morning."

In his inbox, a single message showed as as read. It had already been screened. His team gathered around him as the decrypted, grainy file played.

She looked exhausted, far too thin, but at the same time she appeared to be in far better shape than he would have expected.

"Once a year our planet aligns with Ebb and I am grateful that the sandstorm above will hide the fact anyone will be on the surface to send this message to you. While the number of captured slaves and dead number in the tens of millions, just over two million of our people were safely evacuated below ground. It has not been easy, but we live and live well thanks to the careful planning of my ancestors."

She offered a weak smile as she walked. "We have been digging and building tunnels to the lions that fell from the sky when Voltron was destroyed and we have finally Black Lion which is hidden within the statue outside of our empty castle of lions. I wanted to show you what we found. It was the same as each of the Lions."

She took a brief ride on a sled that sent her into cockpit. "They are ships! And there are keys!"

There were gasps of surprise. "This is the last of the five keys. I wanted you to see this."

There was excitement in her voice as she placed the key and the ship came to life around her. "Communications, telemetry, navigations, ballistics. And watch this!"

She moved the recorder so it could see the controls.

She spoke clearly as she moved the controls. "Activate interlocks, dynotherms connected, infracels up and mega thrusters are go."

The ship thrummed with power almost like the purr of a giant lion as a secondary console rose up before her. In the star diagram only one if the lights flashed and chimed. "We have a theory that if the ships are in flight together that somehow they may be able to come together again!"

Keith's jaw dropped and he watched as she returned the ship to it's original configuration and plucked the key from the console.

"Kurjishi," Pidge gasped. "I've seen this cockpit in my dreams!"

Keith hissed at his youngest teammate to silence him as he continues to watch. His heart was thundering inside his chest. For nearly a year he thought she was dead and dreamed about her. Now the things he had been dreaming had been revealed to him as actual events in his life. Did that mean she could see him too?

She touched the screen fondly and disabled communications. Around her the images of our other cockpits disappeared into static as did the sixth, which appeared to be a control room of sorts.

She paused, the tears in her eyes finally streaming down her cheeks.

"I don't know how long it will take for you to see this. I know I told you not to come. Travel into the Dark Nebula is treacherous and while Zarkon believes my world to be dead, he still keeps robot fighters in our air. It still isn't safe, but at least now I have something other than this crushing pain that threatens to suffocate me. I don't know how long it will take for all of the Lions to be operational much less find suitable pilots, but Keith, we have something now that we haven't had since my father and mother left for the Zohar valley."

She closed her yes and continued to speak. "We have hope. Please stay safe and know that I am with you always."

"Princess!"

Her eyes blinked open and she sighed, lifting a small comm from her belt.

"Go for Mockingbird."

Misty, her duty nurse began to speak, her voice full of urgency and they could barely make it out. "Get Bailey in there now. I'm on my way down. Make sure full scans are transmitted to my data pad, I need to know what I'm looking at before we go in."

She sighed. "Duty calls."

Just as she had before she pressed her fingers to her lips and then to the screen. This time the connection scrambled before completely cutting off.

His breaths were ragged as he reminded himself to breath. He didn't even move until the data pad hat had been passed to him cracked in his hands before he hurled the device across the room.

Invoices of concern greeted him as his team scrambled away from him. No one stopped him when approached the Space Marshall and fisted the taller hams collar in his hands. "Nothing we can do. We have no authority unless a representative of the crown recognizes me. My wife! My wife has been out there without me for nearly a year! My Wife!"

His voice rose to a roar before he even realized that the ambassador was speaking. "The Arusian Embassy and it's Senator recognize Commander Keith Kogane as the lawful and legal husband to her Royal Highness the Crowned Princess of Arus. Technically speaking, he is for all intents and purposes the King of my Planet the moment he sets foot on her sovereign ground."

He had never felt so much rage before in his life. He watched Zarkon publically murder the woman he thought was his wife. He watched Zarkon murder her family first from the broadcast he so thoughtfully shared and the via the emergency transmission she was some how able to initiate before she went underground. He watched as Zarkon gleefully incinerated cities and villages after scooping up slaves, but ultimately killing millions and all the while he sat on his ass out on the new frontier to infiltrate one of Hazaar's lazon mines.

He shoved the Marshall back down into his seat.

"The way I see it, they need five skilled pilots. You can shove the Explorer Vehicle Voltron command up your ass."

Lance squeaked and then pointed at Keith, he sputtered something unintelligible as Sven carefully approached m and put a hand on his shoulder. He'd never seen Keith use any sort of foul language before.

"Keith, we are with you, even if I have to resign my commission."

He flinched, and looked around the room. Steele, Graham's second in command seemed more than relieved that he was stepping away from the Space Marshall.

Hunk and Pidge were on their feet as well. "We're going too," they said together.

Lance shrugged. "I bet those lion ships are something else. You're going to need a big brother there to keep your head on strait."

The Ambassador smiled and nodded.

"Just one more thing," Keith hissed as he spun around his fist connecting with the Marshall's nose. The man stumbled back, clearly surprised and dazed.

Keith squared his shoulders and cracked his aching knuckles.

Stele was ordering that he be taken to the brig before the Ambassador stepped between them. "Officer or not, he is a dignitary from another world. I believe the words we are looking for are diplomatic immunity."


	11. Chapter Ten and Eleven

Hey Everyone!

Another big chapter. Or two… I know I'm butchering some of the details since I'm borrowing from all of the Voltron adaptions. The one thing I did want to say is that even if I write this story all the way through the timeline that brings us Voltron Force, that no, there will not a Larmina because she died.

That said, I'm twisting a wee bit of another WEP universe into this story because I think it fits and could add something in the long run. I still don't consider this a crossover, but the appearance of two characters from the WEP adaption of Bismark in the way that I've thrown them in offers a brief prospective about the universe that I thought would be fitting.

We've seen Lord Cormac's perspective on what his happening on Arus, Allura's accounts of it, and Keith's reactions, but we don't see the perspective of someone outside of that small circle and I think that is important.

So rather than whip up a tertiary character that doesn't get the chance to grow, I've pushed the two universes together and tossed them in a blender. I honestly thought it was a bad idea at first, but in the long wrong I didn't take it out because it added a little bit of depth to Pidge's character that we rarely see told.

I do plan to have similar insights into the lives of our fab five along the way because I want to see Hunk, Sven and Lance also grow. That also means that today, we get a two-fer because I added this back into the story. Yup! That's right! Two chapters, one day, one posting. Aren't we lucky? I figured I shouldn't make you wait any longer for Chapter Eleven. I had planned for some a few other things to happen between what is now Chapter Ten and Eleven, but I already worked out how I would move those bits into the coming chapters.

Before you read a few things that will help paint a clear picture of what you're reading.

A brief glimpse into Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, complete with a Ramrod transformation sequence because it's fun and I thought you may want to see it: youtube watch?v = Evfuc5LCftc

This video of competing pipe majors because ti will give you an idea of what I'm describing in this chapter, the performer in the middle is very close to what I pictured in my head: youtube watch?v = JLo18nlkuzg

The Black Bear, the tune from this chapter performed by The Pipes & Drums of Leanisch is located at: open . spotify track / 2hzBbOwPqXK0trau0BPBRA

PS - Still have a call for Keith in a kilt with a sword over his shoulder, maybe a silly pose trying to hold his kilt down? You'll see what I mean later. :)

The Guardian  
Chapter Ten: Meeting of the Minds

Admiral McClain was up to his elbows in an administrative nightmare. One of the best black ops go to teams just returned from deployment and three of it's officers had resigned their commissions, effective immediately.

With the Vehicle Voltron project nearing completion, the were now short a flight commander and his five man crew, or at least they would be once they were able to complete an administrative separation for Garrett and Stoker.

While he loved his sons, sending them off to the Dark Nebula under their own power was not something he looked forward to. There would be no knowing if they survived the journey until months after their arrival at best.

Shaking his head, he tried to find some reason not to allow the final members of their expedition team release from their contracts, but he knew his sons and their friend Holgersson would go with or without their brothers in arms.

Over the last three weeks, his sons had been moved into the Arusian Embassy where Keith was brought up to speed on their politics and a great deal of the traditions he would be thrown into. Keith had even knighted his team. They'd all been outfitted to look the ceremonial part and he had to say there was something about the five of them that stood out in his mind that he couldn't place.

With a final sigh he signed the administrative separation forms that had only just been delivered to him and decided it was time.

Knowing these boys they would have gone awol.

Ten minutes later, discharge documents were being transmitted and all Charles had left to do was pray for the safety of his boys.

* * *

Pidge yawned and stretched his arms over his head, relieved to be back in his normal clothes, talking with his brother Chip about the recent events in his life.

Chip nodded, uhm-hmm'd and said yeah every few sentences, but he wasn't really paying attention.

He sighed and followed his brothers gaze to the door of the rec room. There, wearing a read unitard, with flowing blonde hair was a girl not much older than Chip and it was clear by the way Chip blushed when Pidge elbowed him that his brother was smitten.

"Hey, you going to keep staring at that Star Sheriff engineer?"

Chip's blush turned to a red of horror. He obviously hadn't noticed that Pidge realized he was staring.

"Star Sheriff?" Chip asked.

Pidge sighed and nodded. "You haven't been keeping up with your inbox from school have you?"

Chip shook his head. "No -? With being on the test pilot program for the project I've been spending way too much time in each ship while they finish recruiting the crew. But I've seen her around before. Do you know who she is?"

Pidge laughed at his brother's expense. It wasn't often that he had the ability to do the teasing, Lance was always targeting him an for a moment he wondered if his brother, only two years older than him, was in the same position with the test pilots currently stationed onboard the explorer in on the Garrison Ship yard.

"She's an Engineer from the Star Sheriff academy. Has her badge and everything. She's been assigned to the design and testing crew since the plans came from Arus four years ago. She's kinda a big deal."

Chip nodded watched as an older boy, a blonde wearing blue jeans with a button down blue shirt. He was out of place, and out of uniform just like Pidge and the girl was and by the way he moved, he knew he was familiar with the blonde girl.

She laughed at something the man said and shook her head before they both looked up and realized that they were being watched.

Pidge watched her stand, gather up a data pad and several folders and walk toward them with the blonde man.

"Hi," she said cheerfully, making sure to meet them each one of them in the eye. "I'm April Eagle and this is my partner, Saber Rider."

Pidge's jaw dropped. On the new frontier, Saber Rider was one of the toughest law men you could fine. He hadn't realized that he would be so young.

"I'm Chip and this is my little brother Pidge. It's nice to meet you."

She nodded and the blonde man spoke with an accent that reminded Pidge of the Ambassador they'd been spending so much time with.

"Nice to meet you. I didn't recognize your brother here and for a moment I thought we had a security breach."

Pidge blinked and recognized Saber Rider's accent. "Hey, where you from? You sound like Ambassador Cormac."

Saber blinked in surprise and April cocked her head to the side to look between Pidge and Saber.

"Why yes, I do. My family is from Arus and I grew up there before -" his voice trailed off. Obviously he was somewhat aware of the situation on the blue planet so far away and Pidge realized he was the last place in the universe he wanted to be. Stuck with his partner at a test facility for a military branch he didn't serve.

Pidge swallowed hard. "You know," he said pulling the badge out of his pocket that would be pinned to his sash every time he wore it, and was now required to carry it, and places it on the table. "April, I read your paper and reviewed the designs you got approved. I think it's amazing that you're building a third mech dedicated to the New Frontier."

Pidge and April talked for a good ten minutes about The vehicle project with Chip chiming in about the stability of the different Land and Sea ships. They were getting ready to start testing the air vehicles and then from there if was the exciting part, putting the ships together.

April explained that she felt the need for a mech that could be piloted by a single person under extreme conditions, it wouldn't be easy, but if could be done and hoped for the opportunity to design ships that were more like an exoskeleton in the future.

Chip and April didn't notice Saber Rider grow quiet or even pick the badge up and stare at it with wide eyes. It took some time before April and Chip caught on and they were surrounded by an uncomfortable silence.

"Where did you -?"

Pidge smiled.

Saber traced the image of the lion and the crown with, his eyes widening in confusion. He had an uncle that served as a knight to the husband of Queen Orla, he knew exactly what this badge meant.

"I don't understand how a boy on Earth could have this," he finally said.

Pidge smiled again. "We're getting ready to go to Arus."

"But the raid? It was reported that after fly over that there was nothing left. My family home is gone. As far as I know my parents and my sisters died or were taken into slavery."

April flinched. Saber's family and the situation on Arus had them both grounded for the time being instead of out on the frontier. It worked out well for April in the long run because she was able to get her project approved and work on Vehicle Voltron, but someone traveling to Arus when travel into the Dark Nebula had been strictly forbidden after the fly over revealed little to no sign of life on the surface of the scarred blue planet had devastated Saber Rider.

Pidge shook his head. "You know that thing about the Princess being here?"

Saber nodded.

"She operated on the Lieutenant that was in my unit - " Pidge's phone vibrated in his pocket and he fished it out. There they were, the discharge papers he'd been waiting for which meant within the hour his credentials would be deactivated and that unless his brother came to him at the Embassy, this was the last time he would possible see him.

"What is it?" Chip asked.

Pidge nearly cheered. "I got my discharge papers. Administrative Separation under code 199C."

Saber's eyes narrowed. "Diplomatic Separation?"

Pidge nodded. "Uh, hey, so is this room secure? I mean, we're not bugged or being listened in on?"

April pulled out her phone and scrolled through her applications before nodding. "Nothing hooked up in here yet. So we're good."

Pidge took a deep breath. "So, the Princess operated on Admiral McClain's son. His appendix ruptured or something and she met Keith Kogane, commander from my old unit. Apparently there's this weird brain soul mind meld thing that happens with Arusian people. And they met the day she was being evacuated to Arus."

"Pidge, Zarkon killed Princess Allura. We all saw it at some point or another because he made a sport of it."

Pidge shook his head. "Her body guards were all body doubles."

"But that was Lord Rylan Sacci. The captain of her guard -"

Pidge nodded. "Sacci had his own doubles, but the man that they killed on Doom was the real Sacci."

Chip and April came to the same conclusion at the same time. "Are you saying that the Princess is alive somewhere?"

Pidge nodded. "Couple million people and the princess made it underground before the invasion. Your family could still be alive. Me and my team, Hunk and I just got separated and Keith, Lance and Sven resigned their commissions."

"You're going to Arus," Saber said suddenly.

Pidge nodded. "Keith made us his Knights and we've been working on getting a ship. It's surprisingly hard to do if you aren't military."

Saber Rider blinked, his eyes locked on a shiny metal panel over Pidge's shoulder. His family could be alive. He'd spent so much time mourning and trying to move on that he'd never entertained the thought that they could somehow be alive.

"So, Saber RIder," Pidge asked, taking the Star Sheriff by surprise. "How do you deal with the kilt itching?"

Saber laughed. "Cotton boxer shorts."

Pidge scowled and face palmed. "Why didn't I think of that?"

* * *

The Guardian  
Chapter Eleven: The Coming of the King

He had learned a lot of things over the last month couple months. Procuring a battle ready ship outside of the military for a deep space mission took time he didn't think he had, even with the backing of the Arusian Embassy was one and traditional Arusian garb for a lord of his new found status was an uncomfortable, itchy endeavor.

While he was finally becoming used to the wool kilt that hung just over his knees and Sven ignored his, Lance and Hunk fidgeted. Poor Pidge kept worrying that it made him look like a girl.

It wasn't that he minded the kilt as much as it was new and he had almost been caught more than once by an updraft. How women survived for centuries in skirts and dresses was simply mind boggling.

Keith groaned. Luckily he hadn't injured himself or a team mate. He'd seen parades with pipe majors spinning and throwing their staff and apparently that was what the Coming of the King ceremony could be compared to.

He rolled his eyes as he and his newly appointed knights worked in unison over and over and over to a tune called The Black Bear. It was for show, and he knew it. They'd been working on it for nearly a month when Pidge and Hunk were separated.

When he asked Cormac about it, the old man said that much like the line of Catholic Popes had been seen by name that the kings of Arus were also seen.

Alfor had been foreseen as the Lionheart and the man to be crowned the next King was seen as The Black Bear. As such, the old man reassured him the the Black Watch, his now personal drum and pipe core, would know the tune well.

He'd rolled his eyes at that, which resulted in Cormacs laughter. It didn't help that the conversation occurred after he had caught the staff on his kilt only nearly ripped it off only moments before.

The time it took to procure their ship was well spent preparing for the pomp and circumstance he would face on Arus and by the time he left they were as ready as the would ever be and as to be in pants for the duration. Luckily for him, Pidge came across a young lord from Arus who offered him his family's private ship, the Cassiopeia after their third attempt to procure a vessel fell through.

As Arus finally appeared in the distance on the telescanners newly two months later he found himself full of a burning anticipation that he couldn't describe. Based on the information that the ambassador provided them they would be arriving during the annual games. Likely near the end. Based on the date and the normal history of the games today was the day of champions.

They knew that it was possible that the chieftains making up the council of elders would push for the Princess to accept an engagement with the winner despite their status. The thought enraged him, much like a black bear being roused from hibernation unexpectedly.

Pidge made a face as they fell into orbit and prepared for their descent unhindered by Zarkon's forces. For the most part their journey had been uneventful, but that didn't mean they were not on alert.

"What's wrong shorty?"

Pidge looked at him and sighed. "Kilts, boots with the fir, sashes, no shirts."

Keith nodded.

"You guys don't have to worry about that, I'm just a kid."

Sven stepped on deck, already having changed I to his garb. "I will be glad once we finish crashing their party so that we can put our normal clothes on."

Keith nodded, his eyes closed for a moment as he reached out with his mind. She felt stronger as they grew closer to Arus and it wasn't just because it was easier to feel her. He noticed a difference in the way he felt as well. The closer to Arus they got, the lighter he felt. His appetite, which had been horrible, had started to return with a vengeance and his nervous stomach no longer reacted poorly to the stress if the changes he was going through.

He also noticed that the closer he got, the more precise his ability to feel her emotions and the more vivid his dreams were.

In the long run, she knew something had changed but not what. The first thing that Lord Cormac taught him was to pick and choose what information he shared with her. He had to. If something happened to him on the journey to Arus he wouldn't want her to risk herself in one if the lions to rescue him.

At the moment, he could hear and see her talking to the young boy Michael as they moved through a crowded underground field. To his surprise despite their subterranean location he noted grass, trees and other plants under growth lights from above complete with birds chirping and the occasion mosquito, bed of fly.

He knew that the kings of old had been preparing for the day that their people would flee bow ground, but he had not understood their planning a resulted in anything this elaborate.

"Keith, with the communications array on our ship, do you think we could reach their command center?" Sven asked as Pidge left the deck.

Lance and Hunk picked that moment to join them. Pulling away from their connection he shrugged. "We have the access codes to try. Cormac says we need to of her down I the lake by the old castle in order to use the underground spaceport."

"Wait, did you say they have an underground spaceport," Hunk asked.

He nodded. "Everything they have above ground, they also have below. It started with Bryn Rider, The Iron Ox of Helena, nearly a millennia ago. The same warnings to watch and prepare that I have had began to advice the kings and queens of Arus of a time the surface would no longer be habitable. Once a highly active volcanic world meant that there are enormous caverns that they were able to reinforce overtime. Whole cities, forests, lakes, farms, hospitals, schools and even Gradem Fortress exists beneath the Castle of Lions complete with a state of the art medical center."

Lance blinked. You mean the have a whole planet beneath the planet's surface and old scales face doesn't know?"

Keith nodded. "We don't know how long Zarkon will be in the dark either."

Pidge returned to the deck. "So, we landing anytime soon?"

Keith nodded, his blue black eyes narrowing with determination. It had been almost two years since she saved Lance and turned his life upside down. It was time to see this through.

"Hunk, Sven, let's take her down. Lance, you raise the control center. Pidge I want you scanning for any sign of Drule forces. We didn't come this far to be stopped now."

His team got to work as he fumbled with the sash pin that declared him the crowned prince of Arus. In a few hours he wouldn't just be a pilot or a soldier, he'd be the King of a world that the alliance believed was nearly dead. With him here, if his dreams were to be trusted, he and his team would see Arus restored and Voltron would fly again. At least he hoped so.

* * *

The pink and white gown she wore was normally comfortable, but today she couldn't sit still.

Sideways glances from Hys told her that she wasn't being ladylike and even little Michael was teasing her.

It was good to see her newly adopted little brother smiling and laughing as they passed through the booths on their way to the field where the championships would begin. Already she and Michael had split fried dumplings covered in honey and were debating if they wanted Haggis or scones for lunch.

She shrugged and nodded as he was handed another basket of fried dumplings and a mug up of milk before they finally approached the stand. Kayhill McKuhn was already there waiting for them which brought a scowl to her face.

The man was eying her like she was some sort of prize and unlike the remaining knights if her father's guard. he had not earned the right to forgo the normal blouse the competitors wore.

Hys was right, he was trying to insinuate himself into her life as though he were going to be the King. Worse, he looked the part and her people were beginning to notice.

As the bands were preparing to march in for the last day of competition Allura noticed one thing had not gone according to Kayhill's plans. The Black Watch was missing, even the knights who would have marched in as part of the day's opening ceremonies were gathered around her raised tent overlooking the field.

Some of the knights were thrice her age whole others simply looked grizzled from their battles during the invasion. One of the knights was Marcus Rider from Helena province, who stood on two titanium feet modeled after the hind quarters of earthen cheetah. A year ago they had managed to fashion them for him and while he had trouble adjusting to them and learning to walk, she was relieved to see him standing tall as a watchful guard.

She had been relieved to hear that his family had escaped to the underground caverns during the raid and with her Aunt now residing at Gradem Fortress with her, she had the opportunity to get to know the man and his family which included his wife, a son, his brother the chieftain of their clan, his brother's wife and two daughters. The only one missing from their family was his nephew who was enlisted as a Star Sheriff on the New Frontier.

Marcus Rider's smile was contagious and despite feeling out of sorts and very uneasy, she returned it. When it came down to it, Watch or no Watch, it was time to settle in and for the bands to parade so she took her place in her high backed thrown. Roxxy, the only one of her ladies to have survived the journey to Arus to was seated at her left, Coran and Hys to her right with Michael between them.

While there were comfortable captains chairs for her fathers knights there was seat theft empty behind her and to her right, signifying that the was a prince of Arus and that the prince was absent.

To Kayhill's frustration, the seat normally kept for the high councilman was absent. It was a clear statement that the Princess of Arus did not want anymore to do with him than necessary.

Luckily for her, after today she wouldn't have to deal with his outside of the council like she had over the last week for at least a year.

As the clans began their parade, complete with their own respected bands, Allura noticed Coran excuse himself. Moments after he left their tent, she felt a thrill of excitement in the back of her mind again. Shifting uncomfortably she felt Roxxy whisper into her ear more than heard her.

She looked at her closest friend and the woman sighed. "Lulu, did the strap you into your stays too tightly," she asked again.

Allura blushed in embarrassment before shaking her head. "No, I just feel like something is about to change."

Roxxy shrugged, and a moment later like Coran she too was called away along with a number of her father's most trusted knights.

She motioned for Marcus to come forward and leaned toward him, "has something happened? Do we need to return to the fortress?"

He shook his head and shifted his weight uncomfortably. He knew something was happening.

"Marcus," she said, her eyes narrowing. "Is something happening?"

He smiled as she leaned on his staff. "No my lady, the Black Watch was late in arrival. They're gathering and the others have left to join them. As you know, I'm not much for parading around. Even with these amazing new legs you've given me, walking that kind of distance would not bode well for a productive day."

She nodded and sat back into her seat before shrugging and motioning Hys and Michael closer and she and Michael began to whisper conspiratorially about the pipe majors. One of Allura's favorite competitions was when the pipe anode would square off against each other. For the purposes of the games, the pipe majors were, for the most part, the unwed and eligible heirs of chieftains of the clans gathered.

The council of elders would push for her to agree to the possibility of courtship with the champion, who would likely end up being Kayhill.

"Your marriage has not been consummated, life mate or not, this means that you should marry under the tradition of the games to ensure the line of succession," Kayhill had argued.

Not yet twenty-five, Allrua had stood before the council and advised them that if the wished for her to wed another it would not be until law dictated she participate as a prize in the games. She also told them that if the were desperate for an heir that they should enter her Aunt, the now widowed Dowager Queen as the prize.

It was strange to see them shocked and dismayed that she would consider something like that during her aunt's mourning period before Coran advised them that they would be asking the same of her.

In the end she agreed to at least 'think about it' which translated in her mind as a clear 'shove it up your rear.'

"'Lura, how many bands are there?" Michael asked as he bounced excitedly in his seat.

"One hundred and thirty seven, one for each clan represented. There was a time when hundreds of clans would gather for the games, but after the invasion, it is no longer feasible for all of the clans to gather."

He grumbled under his breath. While he liked the bands he was still a growing, now, nine year old boy which meant he was just as uncomfortable as she was at the moment. Two hours later with the judging of the bands complete and the clans called, the judging sheet was passed up to her. Smiling at the judge she read it over and found that Kayhill had indeed marked in the top thirty bands. With his scores from other events, that meant he was well into the top twenty competitors that would soon be vying for the position of grand champion.

And then she was on her feet, welcoming her people to the final day of competition and announcing the scoring of the bands and their pipe majors. There were several cheers and Allura couldn't help but to smile. It felt good to see her people happy and celebrating life instead of just pushing forward in their current war state out of necessity.

She was about to announce the competitors for the championship when she began to hear drums in the distance.

She watched as Kayhill, who had been forced to lead his clan and their pipe and drum core into the field in the absence of the Black Watch turned on his heel, an angry look on his face. There, in the distance and making their way toward them was the only missing band and as they got closer she could hear waves of cheering.

Sitting back down because her legs would no longer support her, she felt it before she even recognized the tune.

Her lip quivered, the pull was so strong it had take her off her feet.

Hys, turned to face her and took in her now pale face as the princess reached out to catch her hand and grasp onto it for dear life.

As they got closer, the crowd's cheering became a roar, almost drowning out the drums and pipes that were approaching. The massed bands and lords parted to to allow the Black Watch onto the field.

In the lead, five men marched in unison, their staves spinning around their bodies and caught from the air after being thrown.

The darkest of the five, in the lead, appeared to have Coran Raibel walking beside him in his old duster still worn over the browns and greens of his kilt.

She watched, remembering when she saw the recording of her fathers coming ceremony. It was exactly the same flair, but a different tune.

She could make out his features as he stepped into the field, the crowd cheering. His hair was far longer than she remembered it, but he was there. She felt him. She recognized him and nothing else mattered.

"'Lura, what's happening?" Michael asked, confused by the unexpected arrival.

"Help me," she hissed as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Hys no longer entranced by the performance was pulling her back to her feet.

"My dearest! How," Hys asked.

She shook her head, not knowing herself, ignoring Lord McKuhn who was protesting the arrival of an unexpected competitor rather vocally in front of her tent.

Keith reached the line before her, his staff held parallel to the ground, high stepping as Lord Cormac had taught him, his eyes locked on hers.

"Help me! Help me!" She sobbed as she gathered up the ends of her dress.

Marcus, the closest reached up and she took his hand as she scrambled over the rail. The moment her feet touched the ground she jerked away from him. Her feet didn't obey at first as she began to move forward.

"To hell with tradition!" Lance yelled above the pipes.

Keith tossed the staff aside and ran to meet her half way. They both stopped just short of each other.

Forgetting to breath, she almost didn't heard him greet her with nothing more than a growl, "my wife."

She bit her lip nervously as he took a tentative step toward her.

Around them, the massed bands joined in with the Black Watch, and behind him his knights were now standing at attention, Lance leaning on his staff with a lopsided grin on his face, but none of them existed for Allura or Keith. In that moment as they stood before their people taking each other in.

"I'm dreaming," she cried, "I don't want to wake up."

He took another step as Coran appeared beside them. Catching Allura's right hand and Keith's left he placed their hands together between his own.

Her lower lip quivered and the moment they touched she felt her breath leave her. "Your majesty, you may kiss your bride."

They both looked to Coran and watched as he stepped away.

The Coming of the King. Keith had come to his bride, his wife and he was there with her, holding her hand.

She looked at the place their hands were joined, her eyes wide with wonder. She still hadn't been able to put everything together fully. He was here with her. It wasn't some sort of dream created by her mind to sooth her aching heart.

He reached out with his right hand to touch her face before pulling her into his arms.

It was real. He was real. There were a thousand things that they could of said, but instead his arms encircled her and she heard a single word in the back of her mind. _Mine_

Shock still written on her face, the crowned princess of Arus looked up into the eyes of the man that had become her husband through now decision of his or her own.

If it wasn't for his arms holding her up, her legs would have failed her the moment his lips touched hers.


	12. Chapter Twelve: The Wedding Night

This chapter is inspired not by my heritage (surprise), but by a song by Grey Holiday called You Belong To Me

This song just seems to tell the story of Allura's plight to Arus and Keith's loss of her and the hope they found. The chorus:

So come back to the light to the love, you will find it's been here all along. So come back to the start and you'll find in your heart that you always belonged to me

In case you're interested in hearing this amazing song, here's a link:

I don't know, it just feels right for a Keith and Allura love story despite the interruptions I'm tossing into their laps.

I also wanted to apologize for a delay in posting. This chapter took a few rewrites. The characters kept trying to leap ahead story wise and we're just not ready yet. I wanted some fluff. I think after how long it took to get them together, they should have some time for some fluff. It seems they had other things in mind, so I had to argue with them. Literally argue to ensure that while there's a bit of plot, that our amazing team got some fluff.

The Guardian  
Chapter Twelve: The Wedding Night

The day had been something more out of a fairy tale than real life. A princess and her soul mate reunited the fields of a planets celebration of life despite the fact it's people hid underground, trapped in perpetual spring.

It was magical. It was heart warming and a reminder of hope. But still the ever present voice whispered for them to watch and prepare.

When they both heard if, their eyes met with surprise. Something was coming.

Of course it didn't help that hey had been separated by members of the council while at the games. The result was Keith nearly vomiting and Allura coming far to close to blacking out than they would have ever guessed.

There was something going on with a group of the elders that kept trying to drag them a part and he'd confirmed it when one of the Knights, a man named Marcus Ryder and managed to bring her back to his side and forcibly pushed her into his arms.

The moment they made contact the nauseating feeling that was boiling within him eased and her eyes fluttered open.

The warning Marcus offered startled him. Their bond had been sealed after separation for a great deal of time. Apparently they would need to be within close proximity to each other for a period of weeks, perhaps longer.

It was an uncomfortable prospect. If something happened and they had to be separated she could become incapacitated and he wouldn't be able to save her.

Of course with the major and minor miracles in their lives there would be a downside, but for now he wouldn't be able to focus on it.

Instead he was being escorted by a very sleepy princess from the Queens quarters and down into the medical center. Despite her state of physical and emotional exhaustion, she had patients to check up on and he couldn't grudge her that.

If it wasn't for the need to be so close together he would have taken the time to step away from her and make sure his men were set for the night.

She moved from room to room, now free of the cumbersome gown she had sported throughout the day in not the hospital scrubs he expected. Instead she was wearing a pair of PT shorts that barely made it to her mid thigh and grey hoodie that said MEDIC on the back.

She looked more like herself, at least the herself he remembered from his more recent dreams.

At his said, Coran Raibel was briefing him on security measures and emergency procedures.

A sideways glance at the old adviser communicated that he was feeling the same exhaustion as his wife.

His wife, he stumbled over that thought. Until they'd arrived on Arus she had been more like some sort of unreachable dream, yet here they were. She was real and there was no mistaking the burning he felt in his entire being that flared to life when she was within arms reach, nor was there mistaking the ache as she stepped away.

"Coran, Sir Marcus Rider, he was one of her father's knights?"

Coran nodded. "Yes, his family has held a prominent position in the council for years. I believe his nephew is a law man on the new frontier?"

Keith knew that part already. "Pidge actually met Saber previously. If they hadn't met, we would never have acquired the Cassiopeia. You would be surprised how hard it is to purchase a deep space vessel with combat capabilities on short notice as a civilian."

Coran paused in his steps as the Princess slipped into a room where the curtains were closed around the patient inside.

"That knight warned me about the demands of the bond. How long do you think it will be before we're able to be more than a few feet a part?"

Coran paled.

"No! It's not like that. It's just if something happened and she was needed in surgery or if we had to go into battle. Situations like that where we couldn't be physically together. I'm concerned about that. I couldn't leave her."

Coran seemed to sigh in relief, his eyes traveling to the door the princess had disappeared behind. "How did you find out?"

"There was a man dressed similarly as me, my men and the surviving knights. He kept putting himself between us and was able to separate us. She almost blacked out."

Coran shook his head. "Kayhill McKuhn. His father passed just before the invasion and he became a chieftain. Before the King faced Zarkon, he tried to convince the King to force Allura to participate in the Bride Games with her sister, Leonine. Alfor wouldn't have it since she was already spoken for."

"What does this man have to gain," he asked.

"There's a small faction of the council that believed her highness' match to you wasn't possible because you are an outlander. They tested the connection between you by pulling you a part. I assume they believed you would fail."

"Coran, you know what they say about people who make assumptions," Keith asked sarcastically.

The older man had a confused look on his face and Keith waved it off.

"Marcus says they could have killed us, is it really that strong now?"

Coran nodded. "It will be a matter of days before you will be able to be separated physically for more than a minutes. You'll notice that you both gravitate toward each other. The distance between you will be able to grow over time, but there will always be a pull."

Keith sighed in relief. He didn't want to entertain the thought of Allura being forced to join him while he was in the head, and he definitely didn't think he wanted to see something like that.

"So, this Kayhill. Before I arrived what was his plan?"

"The council forced her to consider the possibility of a courtship with the winner of the games. Of course considering and allowing such a farce are two separate things. She would have never allowed it. I believed her thoughts were that she would rather abdicate to her aunt, the Dowager, but at this stage in life, Orla is already two decades passed her childbearing years and even using surrogacy the viability of such an child would be questionable. Of course the Dowager is also still in mourning."

Keith nodded thoughtfully. "Should we expect trouble"

"Definitely," Coran grumbled.

"Definitely what?" Allura asked as she stepped out of the private room and moved past Keith, her hand unconsciously brushing his arm as she continued through the surgical ward.

"You and Keith should definitely consider moving into the fortress together. In fact its time that you, Hys, Michael and Roxxy all come home."

Allura glared at him before slipping in and out of the last room and dropping off a data pad and a small pile of charts. "Coran, we all agreed that Michael needs as normal a childhood as possible. A stable home without the complications of our day to day charade."

"Princess, you cannot be expected to live in the brownstone with your husband and his knights in addition to your current household."

Keith blushed. He'd gotten to Arus and he had a wife that wasn't able to be more than a few feet away from him at any given point in time and he had not yet even begun to consider the sleeping arrangements. He swallowed hard.

When their eyes met the both took a step away from each other and Coran had the gall to laugh.

_Madly in love, check. Beautiful wife, double check. Virtual stranger despite being in each other's heads for nearly two years, triple check. Embarrassed about the possibility of a wedding night, priceless._

Allura, hearing his thoughts clearly in the back of her mind burst out into peels of laughter. She obviously hadn't thought about it either.

"I really do have a husband. I mean," she blinked as she tucked a loose tendril of hair behind her ear, "I know I had one. And I knew that someday we'd be together but I never really thought about it."

Coran blushed. "I think it's team we check in with your men and figure out just exactly who goes where so that we can get everyone settled in."

Allura nodded, suddenly feeling incredibly anxious.


	13. Chapter Thirteen: The Smallest of Hearts

Good morning my friends!

I wanted to get this story sent off to Oz before the day got too late here in the land of the Long Horn.

This chapter is definitely a lot of fluff because I think our heroes need a bit before I toss them into the blender with some sharp pointy teethed plot bunnies.

As always I am eternally grateful for the follows, likes and reviews and hope that I can continue to live up to your expectations.

I hope you enjoy!

The Guardian  
Chapter Thirteen: The Smallest of Hearts

When Michael woke from the horrible dream he was having he found the green glowing numbers of his clock reading 0317. There were unfamiliar sounds and they didn't help either. Someone was snoring on the other side of the wall closest to his head and they were snoring loud.

Still nervous he rubbed his eyes and but back his tears. Hys would already be at the castle but his sister would still be asleep. If he woke her up she would tell him a story. He liked her stories. But we he made his way to her room with his blanket in tow to look inside, the room was empty.

Turning toward the kitchen, where a light was still glowing he passed through the living room and there on the couch was his sister, sound asleep with her head on the dark man's thigh. The dark man had appeared during the games the day before and he still didn't quite understand everything that happened, only that the dark man was here.

He wasn't sure how he felt about the stranger or the men he brought with him. All he knew was he didn't want anyone to take his big sister away.

His face scrunched in displeasure as he approached to take in more what he saw. The mans left hand was hurried in his sister's hair and his head was propped up by his right, supported by an elbow on the arm of the couch.

No, he didn't like this one but.

Michael scowled and reached out to poke the man's nose only have his hand caught mid air.

He squeaked in surprise and the man let his hand go.

"What's wrong Michael," Keith asked in a low whisper.

The little boy jumped. "How do you know my name?"

The man yawned and shook his head a few times before answering. "I've known who you are since you came into the hospital that night."

"How?"

Keith sighed and gathered up Allura in his arms and slipped out from underneath her, surprised that she was sleeping so soundly, he was able to sit on the floor in front of her. Not what he expected at all for a wedding night, but less uncomfortable than Royal tradition.

"Why are you awake?" Keith asked.

"I had a bad dream," he admitted. "'Lura tells me stories when I have bad dreams."

"How about I tell you a story about how I know who you are?"

Michael nodded, clutching his blanket to his chest. His sister had to love the dark man to run out onto the field like she did. She had to trust him to. Maybe it was okay for him to trust the dark man too.

Keith patted the floor at his left side and nearly jumped as Allura groaned in her sleep, her hand snaking out, fingers tangling in his now shoulder length hair.

Michael shrugged and sat down with his back against the couch, still holding his blanket protectively.

"Michael do you know who I am?"

The little boy shook his head.

"Do you know what I am?"

Michael shook his head again, this time frustration written on his tired face.

"Do you know how Allura is Dr. Kogane?"

Michael nodded.

"My name is Keith Kogane."

Michael's jaw dropped. "Are you her brother?"

Keith laughed softly, the sound causing Allura to stir in her sleep, her mind reaching toward his in near wakefulness. "No, Michael, not at all. She's my wife and I'm her husband. When we married, she took my last name."

Michael's brow furrowed in deep thought. "My mommy and daddy were married. Does this mean you have babies?"

Noting that Michael had relaxed at his side and his eyes were beginning to droop, he answered softly, "no, but maybe in the future."

Michael yawned, "what does it mean?"

He sighed, and waited for a few moments before he answered. "It means that like Lulu is your sister, I'm your big brother and just like I protect Lulu I will always be here for you."

Keith wasn't sure how to explain the connection he had with his wife, but he did know he was already emotionally vested in the boy since the moment he drew his wife flowers.

"Even from the monster in my closet?"

Keith laughed, "especially monsters in your closet."

It wasn't long until Michael was sleeping soundly at his side.

Hearing a noise he looked up to find Hys standing in the frame of kitchen door, smiling and dabbing at her eyes. "Do you want me to put him back to bed?"

Keith shook his head. "Leave him."

She nodded and closed the kitchen door. While Keith could hear her working in the kitchen he settled back against the couch I time for Allura to wrap an arm around him from behind. Resting his head on her arm he finally nodded back off.


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Coffee and

The Guardian

Chapter Fourteen: Coffee and Cinnamon Vanilla Pancakes

Allura was aware of several things when she finally woke from the best sleep she had had in over two years, despite being sprawled out on the couch.

The first was the smell of cinnamon and vanilla pancakes, her favorite breakfast. The second was the smell of fresh coffee brewing. The coffee was what pulled her out of her sleep.

The third thing was the fact she was on the couch. Did something happen that prevented her from making it to bed? She had the most amazing dream about Keith arriving on Arus and the thought of being there in her dreams only to wake and have him not there was not something she could take.

Blinking awake, she came aware of her body. Her right arm was asleep. Curiously she wiggled her fingers and found they brushed up against something warm and there was a weight on her arm, a warm weight with scratchy stubble pressed against her arm.

Her bleary eyes openned and were greeted by the back of a dark, curly haired head. Swallowing nervously she pushed herself up on and found that not only was there a curly haired stranger resting against her, but Michael was curled up against the stranger's side.

Was that a dream or did he really come marching accross the parade field?

_Easy Princess._

She blinked as his voice whipsered in the back of her head.

_The little guy woke me up. I didn't mean to worry you._

Her eyes wide, the brightest smile formed on her face as she reached around him and laughed.

He made a happy sound which caused her to laugh more before he whispered into her head that she should be careful not to wake Michael.

He turned his head and pressed a kiss to her lips before straitening and stretching his arms over his head. Considering he was able to sleep almost anywhere, he felt a bit more rested than he thought he was going to be.

Still wearing her PT gear she stepped around Michael and motioned for Keith to put the sleeping child on the couch.

After he did and he was on his feet facing her and she was trying not to laugh as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

_I thought I was dreaming,_ she told him silently as she spun around on her toes. _I didn't think this was real. It's really really real. There's Michael, and your hear and I smell coffee!_

She grabbed his hand and jerked him toward the closed swinging door.

"Morning Nan," she called.

"Good morning my dearest," Hys said as she flipped a pancake over on the cast iron skillet.

Allura pressed a kiss to her governess' cheek before pouring herself and Keith a mug of coffee. His was black, hers two sugars and splash of cream.

He watched her and was surprised by the way she just knew. It was just like the way he knew she would sit in the warn wooden chair with a purple paint stain on it and draw her knees up to her chest while she scanned the waiting data pad for any important news.

Predictably she placed the red steaming mug into his hands, pressed a kiss to his cheek and then sat in the wooden chair with the purple paint stain. Once settled she sipped her coffe and placed the worn pink mug on the table before scooping up her data pad and drawing her knees up to her chest.

Hys watched and bit back a chuckle as the sound of Keith's men waking throughout their now cramped home reached her ears.

The first to the kitchen wasn't Hunk like Keith expected, instead it was a woman who, despite her red hair, looked just like his wife.

"Morning, 'Nan, 'lu," she greeted. The woman stopped short of the kitchen, then shrugged before she waved and poured herself her own coffee. She sat accross from Allura her left ankle tucked beneath her.

He was taken back by how alike they were in their mannerisms, both reaching for their coffee and sipping in unison. The difference, the newcomer's coffee was black like his accept for a teaspoon of cinnamon stirred into it.

_Lulu? Who is this?_

She smiled and looked up. "Oh! Morning Roxxy! How were the incomings last night?"

Roxxy shrugged. "Just a few fools that decided that they were going to see who could flip a kaber the most in a ten minute period."

Allura laughed, "now why does that sound like soemthing that happened more than once?"

"Happened four times. You know, I love being your guard and all, but medicine really is your cup of tea, not mine. I think it's time to give up this medical mumbo jumbo."

"Blah blah blah blah, you keep talking like you hate being a doctor, but you love it and you know it," Allura teased.

The red haired woman shrugged. "So what? Besides, who knows what would happen if I wasn't there to keep you out of trouble."

Keith amused sat beside Allura at the table, his interest peaking when he heard her say, "oh please, what kind of trouble was I ever in?"

Roxxy waited for the princess to look up before smirking at her, her bright green eyes shining with laughter.

"You wouldn't dare!" She squeaked.

"What, and ruin the image your governess and husband have of their sweet darling princess?"

Hys sighed.

"Are they always like this," Lance asked as he stepped out of the shadows sporting only a pare of black sweatpants.

Roxxy's jaw dropped as Hys answered that they were always like this.

Allura shrugged.

"Oh come on Lulu," Roxxy teased. "You sure you don't want them to know about the graduation party? Not the one your Aunt attended, but the one at the barracks?"

Allura turned red. "Don't you dare!"

"Come on! Grass skirts, coconut bikinis dancing the Macarena on a table. You were lucky we got you out of there before you were busted for underaged drinking -"

"Your highness!" Hys yelled. "You most certainly did not do something so unseemly."

Keith's eyes narrowed looked at his wife, the image of her doing exactly what Roxxy described bringing a teasing smile to his lips. "Of course she did. And you're right about being lucky you didn't get caught," he added.

She sighed, "come on I was fourteen. Everyone in my class was at least ten years older than I was."

"And you should have known better," Hys snapped as she dropped a plate of pancakes onto the table. "And you, you should be more appropriately dressed outside of ceremony."

Lance shrugged. "Look, it took me months to get used to the idea of topless and a skirt, at least let me be comfortable when I'm off duty."

Allura sighed. _And I am going to guess that he is always like this?_

Keith nodded. _ Wait until you see what he's like with the others._

_You mean it's worse? _She asked.

_No, I mean that there is just a strange dynamic. You'd have to see it to believe it._

"Oh, come on, no fair having secret conversations that we can't hear," Roxxy teased, her eyes following Lance as he moved through the room. "Besides, it's pretty rude."

Hys laughed, retrieving another stack of pancakes before putting more coffee on.

The next one in was Hunk, who nearly filled the entire door frame. His tank top was half tucked into his pajama pants that were hanging off his hip. The weight he'd lost during their deep space journey evident in the fact his clothes nearly hung off him. He yawned and stretched before catching the band of his pants with a scowl. "Are those pancakes?"

Hys sighed and motioned for him to take the open seat at the table only to have pidge wearing a green track suit slip around him and slid into the open spot.

"Oh come on Pidge, I'm hungry!"

Pidge sighed. "Too slow big guy! Besides, we got a lot to do and the day is only just beginning."

Sven was the only Knight who reached the table fully dressed. He nodded at Keith in greeting before removing the pot from the coffee maker and replacing it with a mug.

He waited for the brew to nearly slosh over the top of the mug before swapping out the decanter, chugging down the scalding liquid and repeating the process.

Once his mug was filled third time he turned to the others adn greeted them.

"Note to self, don't talk to tall dark and scary until he's had a few cuppas," Roxxy mumbled. "That said, I'm needed at the fortress. Security has to sweep the wing that is being openned up for us. With everyone coming in we should have everything moved by the end of the day."

It was that moment that Michael stepped into the kitchen rubbing his eyes. "Nanna? Are we going some where," he asked with a yawn.

Hys oepnned her arms and her adopted son stepped into them. "No, and yes at the same time, my sunshine."

He clung to her middle, half awake, hiding himself shyly in the folds of her apron.

"Michael," Allura spoke up as she put down the data pad and turned toward him. When her feet touched the floor she called him over to her. "How would you like to go on an adventure?"

As she spoke, her eyes widened and she poked his nose.

His eyes crossed and then he followed her finger as it circled around in front of his face. "An adventure?"

She nodded. "Yup! An adventure."

"What kinda adventure," he asked. While he was still half asleep it was clear that the boy was anxious about any sort of change in his life.

"How would you like to go live in the fortress near Auntie?"

The boy's brow furrowed and he looked back at Hys uncomfortably. "You're giving me away?"

"Oh no!" Hys dropped to her knees and pulled him into her arms. "I would never give my sunshine away. It's just with all the new comers we thought it would be better for all of us to have our own bedrooms and more bathrooms. You know how long it takes Roxxy and Allura to get ready to go anywhere in the morning? Just think how much longer it would be to wait if there were five more people here."

"Girls sure do spend a lot of time in the bathroom," he said, the threat of tears over before they began. "I guess it could be fun, but only if I can bring cheese for Platte and Chachule."

Hys sighed. She definitely was not a fan of the space mice that lived in the fortress, but they amused Michael and Allura. "Yes, you can bring them cheese if you'd like and maybe even one of my old boots? They could make a new nest in it."

Michael beamed. "Can I have pancakes now?"

She nodded and Allura and Keith both watched him as Roxxy scooted over to share her chair with him.

_Mission accomplished_, Keith asked her.

She nodded, picking up the forgotten data pad and scowling as the screen flooded with new incoming informaiton.

Allura noted the way Roxxy's eyes stuck to Lance and the way that the former lieutenant's eyes followed her from the kitchen.

_Should I be worried about Lance? _

Keith looked up and found Lance and Allura's guard watching eachother. _I'd normally say yes, but they both have that look._

_Never seen Roxxy with that kind of look on her face before._

Keith laughed, and once again all eyes were on them.

"Hey, you going to let us in on the joke," Lance asked.

Keith only shook his head, leaving Allura grinning. "Nothing important. Whyhy don't we dig in! We all have a lot to take care of today."

She waited as she always did for everyone to be served before eating herself.

It was strange to watch them all squeeze in around the table, even if they weren't all sitting. Pidge kept passing Hunk stack after stack of pancakes.

She smiled, it was good to see Hys having this many people to care for. While they had Michael to look after, Hys had managed her entire detail and before that was the head of her mother's household.

With her meal finished, Allura claimed the first shower, returning with her hair in a damp golden braid wearing a grey pencil skirt and a white blouse.

All eyes were on her when she walked into the room with a pair of sandals hanging off her right hand.

Keith swallowed hard and excused himself.

"Was it something I did," she asked, suddenly feeling self conscious.

"Lulu, we'll tell you when you grow up," Lance insisted.

Sven, the silent watchful type, nodded in agreement.

She shrugged before retrieving wash cloth from a kitchen drawer and ran it under warm water.

"Hey sticky," she called. Michael bounced off his chair and scurried to her, holding out his hands covered in syrup and bits of pancake.

Making sure his hands were clean and his face free of the dribble of syrup on his chin she sent him off with his marching orders. "Make your bed and get dressed."

He looked over his shoulder at Hys who nodded and agreed with her instructions.

"Awww, I hate making my bed," he grumbled as he stomped off.

She laughed and rinsed the cloth in the sink before excusing herself to the living room. It was going to be a long day. Meetings, moving, settling in, the council.

She groaned. It was the kind of day she dreaded. If it wasn't for the fact Keith would be with her every step of the way she would be staring at her phone begging it to ring. Unfortunately for her it did.

"Go for Mockingbird," she answered.

"Allura, we have trouble up top. How fast can you make it to Control."

She blinked. "Coran, you mean we're going all the way up?"

She could almost hear his nervousness. "Allura, we're picking up ships on the short range sensors. The best place to get a picture of what is going on -"

"It'll take us atleast fifteen minutes to get to the lift," she said as she poked her head into the kitchen. "Sorry to cut breakfast short, we have to go uptop. You got three minutes. Anyone not ready to leave when I am gets left behind."

Pidge blinked in confusion. She knew he wasn't sure if he should be following her orders or not, but when Keith appeared behind her dressed in a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt, four words sent his knights racing to prepare for a long day as quickly as they could. "You heard the lady."

"At least I don't need the skirt today," she mumbled. He watched her step around him and retreat to her bedroom. When she returned her blouse, that had been tucked into her skirt now hung to kher knees over a pair of pink leggings. Funny enough, she beat Hunk and Lance back to the living room even though they had a head start.

It was going to be a very long day.


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Castle of Lions

Greetings from the Land if the Long Horn where summer has already were iced with a vengeance. We've already been close to 100 and now we're sitting at 90 with insane humidity looking at a possibility of thunderstorms, which are currently exploding in the sky over my head and offering our dry dry land some moisture. /cheer

Unfortunately for me, today isn't my Saturday. It's actually Friday! This means another day if work and hopefully solving the technical woes for gamers everywhere. (And I do mean everywhere!)

I wanted to tell you that there will be more fluff and more group scenes coming as this story progresses. There's just something about the characters feeling real that drives me forward. I've been watching GoLion and there is just so much more depth to them and I think it's pretty amazing.

That said, writing a story about a child prodigy that just happens to be the daughter of a King and have a life mate, let's just say we need those scenes to help the picture I've painted stay as believable as possible.

As always, thank your for the favs, the follows and the continued reviews. They help keep me writing.

Now I bring you chapter fifteen in which the plot blender has been pulsed once or twice and some of the elements driving this story begin to surface.

The Guardian

Chapter Fifteen: Castle of Lions

Their transport carried them to Gradem fortress quickly and the closer the got to it the more the apprehension poured off Allura in waves.

She tried to be polite for the knights by appreciating their excitement over finally entering the fortress, but the closer they got the more a pit of anxiety formed within her.

Pulling her tight against his side his silent inquiry broke through her reverie.

_The castle, accept for the control room, is nothing more than a mass grave._

Keith's eyes widened as she lay her head on his shoulder.

_We can't offer those that died there freedom to journey to the after life by fire or burial because doing so would alert Zarkon to our presence. It's one of the first places they go when the patrol Arus. There isn't much left up top that they can take, but Zarkon is still trying to find the control room._

_Were there any survivors? _He asked.

She shook her head. _Two thousand souls. Mostly women, children and the elderly. They wouldn't make good slaves. We checked every last one and the attack was,_ her thoughts trailed off as the transport came to a stop. _We're here._

Roxxy was waiting for them inside.

"What do we have," Allura asked as she and Keith walked at the gingers side.

"It doesn't sound good. They're lowering the shields and ordering people into the cities. Your Aunt and high councilmen Davishire and Rider are already on their way up. We should take the zips."

Allura nodded.

"Why would we have to take the zips?" "What's a zip?" "Just how long does it take to get up there?"

Roxxy scowled. "Hunk, the zips are the fastest way from below ground to the surface. They also take you to transport to the Lion Ships. Pidge, the zip is just that a zip line, accept this one is accelerated by a motor control system. It means the ride up is less than a minute or so."

"The lift itself takes over twenty minutes in each direction," Allura concluded. "You have to remember that we are more than a mile underground. That mile, in most places is half a mile to about a mile in thickness. It is what allows us to have wireless down here, sure it's a lower frequency that can be unreliable at times, but it allows us to maintain the lives we are accustomed to as best we can."

After descending several flights of stairs, Roxxy watched Allura place her and on a control panel that scanned her palm print, a smaller scanner floated up and took a retinal scan.

A moment later, there was a chime and the panel at the bottom of the stairs opened. "We will have to have everyone scanned in as soon as possible. Right now there are only four of us able to access the chute from here or the control room."

"Why is that?" Sven asked as the stepped through onto a platform overlooking a bay shaped like a star.

"It took so long to construct passages to the lions because only the most trusted know that they survived the fall. By limiting access we have been able to keep Voltron safe from the machinations of the council, but I'm afraid if we don't beat Ephraim and Roland to the surface that all of our planning may be ruined. Ephraim isn't in on it."

"So, how do we go up?" Lance asked, eyeing the ships suspiciously. "There's five ships, so I'm assuming five zips. Who gets to ride with the pretty ladies?"

Keith nearly growled as Allura climbed into position one, motioning Keith to join her.

Lance followed Roxxy, who rolled her eyes into position two.

Once each of the sleds were occupied Allura pressed a silvery button to open a comm to control.

"Control, Mockingbird."

Corans voice echoed in the chamber. "Go for control, your highness."

"Control, raise the colonnade."

_Colonnade?_

She simply smiled. They had no idea what they were in for.

"Pull your elevator," she ordered. Keith blinked at her. The elevator was a pilots term for their emergency eject. She gripped the blue fever firmly as she squirmed in his lap and pulled.

The chair shot toward the ceiling if the chamber. Above them the base of a chute opened and the chair locked in place. She stood first in the dim emergency lighting, stepping onto what looked like a handle bare and looping a safety restraint around her wrist.

Motioning him to join her, he found himself facing her, their fronts pressed together, each with a hand in a safety strap. His free arm pulled her tight against him as she counted backwards. When she hit five there was a chime and four seconds later they were jerked up the shoot.

While she was laughing he let out a cry of surprise.

About an adrenaline filled minute later the zip abruptly stopped, jarring them before a play form slid out under their feet.

Taking a moment to compose herself she felt Keith's lips press into her forehead before they stepped together from the chute.

Moments later the colonnade lowered into the floor and thy all were greeted by anxious looks from both the Dowager Queen Orla Elena and the adviser to the crown, Coran Raibel.

They were just in time as the wall separating the ancient stairway down to the lift slid open.

"My Lord Davishire, my Lord Rider," Orla greeted.

"Your majesties," they replied.

Roland stepped forward offering his arm to Keith who clasped it with a nod. Davishire was noticebly uncomfortable in the presence of the former commander and his team.

Allura noted this and if Keith was concerned about it, he didn't show it.

"Roland," Allura greeted with a smile. "Once this is taken care of, I believe that you and our youngest knight should talk. I'm not sure if Marcus told you about our young friend."

Roland nodded, his eyes following hers to Pidge who waved shyly from the spot he stood, half hidden by Hunk.

"Now, all that aside, Coran, bring up the short wave scanners."

The adviser nodded and filtered through several screens.

Allura stepped up to the screen on at the main control and drew a circle with her pointer figner around the blurry mass beyond Akajishi's volcano. Coran nodded and switched camera's view.

Keith's eyes narrowed as the image zoomed in. Before she even said anything Allura paled and he coudl feel her recognition.

"Skull ships," she whispered under her breath.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Sir, we have an unauthorized vessel leaving dry dock."

The monitor split, now showing the incoming skullships to the left, a guard to the right bottom half of the screen and a ship that was now in the lake.

"That's my ship!" Roland gasped. At the same time, Hunk groaned, "not my baby!"

"Coran, I want to know who is on that ship," Keith hissed, his hands fisting at his sides.

_Send me_, a soft musical voice sang in the back of her head.

Allura and Keith both turned toward each other as she responded, _Aojishi? Aojishi is that you?_

The Blue Lion, the Lioness and queen of the pride was singing a new song from the farthest reaches of the heavens, echoing in their souls.

_Send me,_ she called again. This time Sven jumped, turning about in confusion. _Send me! I can try to stop the ship from breaking the surface._

Allura nodded her eyes falling on Sven. There wasn't much time, or anytime at all to explain.

Her eyes, watering she dug into the pouch that was tied to her help and produced a single ovular key. "Sven. Position five," she said softly as she pressed the key into his hand. He stared down at it and then looked up at her in confusion. "There isn't time. Coran, we have to."

The old man nodded, has hands moving over the controls and both he, Allura, Orla and Keith held on as the colonnade rose again. In an instant, Sven was gone and Ephraim Davishire was staring with wide confused eyes.

Allura watched as a secondary panel rose on the console. Five small discs appeared showing the insides of some sort of ship. "Insert key and launch," she called into the com system.

She watched as as monitoring in the lake showed the Cassiopeia moving into launch position and fought to swallow back the bile that rose in her throat.

Not only were they showing their hand, but there was no way those skull ships were not picking up on the signature of the ship that had just come across the universe.

"They're going to know," she whispered, her heart racing. "Dear God, they're going to know."

Keith could feel her panic and leaned forward to bark an order into the com. "Sven, I don't care if you have to rip our ship apart, the Cassiopeia does not breach the lake surface."

Davishire watched with wide eyes the the Blue Lion, once sleeping at the bottom of the lake bed rose to her feet and bounded toward the deep space vessel.

"Blue Lion to Cassiopeia. You have not been cleared for launch. You will return to dry dock or face destruction."

While no video transmitted from the Cassiopeia, a familiar voice responded. "You don't have murder in you, boy."

Allura blinked as Davishire shook his head, "Kayhill?" the older man asked, "what in the devils name do you think you are doing?"

"You will allow an outlander to assume our throne?"

Orla turned red with fury. "Outlander or not, he is the lifemate of my niece, the Crowned Princess of Arus. The only surviving child of our most Royal house. Our laws, our history and everything that we are dictate that this man is not only her husband, but our King."

The ships thrusters fired and while the Blue Lion took evasive measures, Sven was not yet familiar with Aojishi's weapons systems. Both Lion and the ship burst from the surface of the lake, racing toward the waiting skullships.

_We don't have time_! Midorijishi whined. _ We can't wait. We have to go! We have to go now. Give the small one my key! _

Tears poured from her cheeks as the voices of all the lions but black called to them. Pidge crossed his arms over his chest for a moment before holding out his hand exactingly.

Lance and Hunk also stepped toward the colonnade with hands reaching up toward them.

Keith put a hand on her shoulder. _We have to trust in the Lions, in Voltron and in ourselves._

She nodded, tossing down all the keys but one. Kurojishi growled in frustrated annoyance and the castle itself shuddered with the ferocity of his roar.

Davishire paled and watched as three more lion shaped ships launch on various screens. "Those ships, they rained from the sky!"

Allura nodded. "Voltron fell and the Lion Ships crashed on Arus, it has been a closely guarded secret that each Lion Ship contained a cockpit with a key. The ships would not respond to anyone but myself, even with the keys. They've been waiting, sleeping, perhaps even healing from the spell that separated the pride. Without pilots that the ships would respond to, giving our people false hope was a fruitless endeavor."

Davishire's eyes narrowed and fell on Keith, this time as though he was measuring the outlander as a man.

Roland scowled up at the screen as the ships engaged the enemy which swallowed the Cassiopeia into their battleship.

Allura began to sob. "Coran, sound the alarms. The man knows everything. We have to be -"

Keith pulled her into his arms, dark furious rage rolling off him in waves as Kurojishi roared again.

Davishire jumped.

"Shields are already down and the people have been evacuated to reinforced locations. You know this, Lulu. You need to breath. We won't let it happen again," Roxxy called as she started pacing.

"We need blasters on those ships to protect the castle," Orla whispered. "My darling, there are very few cannons that we can control from inside. They need our help."

She nodded and bit back a cry as the castle shuddered around them.

Above them, on the short range scanners the battle unfolded and Keith was helpless to do anything but watch as his team fumbled with controls of their ships. Learning to fly an unfamiliar ship under duress was not ideal, but they had no other choice.

"Where is the fifth lion?" Davishire demanded.

Roland's eyes traveled from Ephraims to Keith and Allura and he shook his head. "They can't be separated yet, can they?"

Allura watched as a giant coffin fell from the sky. Out of it, a half beastman rose, growing in size as an energy beam from the battlecruiser poured raw power over the hagarium infused beast. The hair on the back of her neck rose as she uttered a single word under her breath. "Robeast."

"Lulu," Keith whispered in her ear. "I have to go."

He turned his gaze to the adviser. "Is there away for me to be physically separated from her long enough to fly?"

Coran worried his lower lip for a moment. "It's dangerous. Considering what happened yesterday -"

Kurojishi roared again, the walls of the castle vibrating, dust and debris falling from the ceiling above.

_We must fly. You watch. You prepare. Now fly._

Allura's hands dug into Keith's shoulders as firey death began to rain down on the castle.

"Lulu," he whispered.

She nodded. She knew he had taken the key from the pouch at her wist before he pulled away.

"Be strong."

_Promise me you will come back._

He pressed his lips to hers and soon he was riding down the zipline toward the shuttle that would ultimately carry him to the lion monument overlooking the drawbridge.

Pressure exploded in the back of her head.

"Allura!" Orla cried as she fellbackwards from the colonnade, only to be caught by Roland Ryder.

Her skin, once vibrant and pink turned ashen grey.

Confused eyes blinked up for only a moment before darkness pressed in on her, the sound of a lion purring echoing in her ears.


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Voltron

Today, I spent a lot of time listening to Madonna's Ray of Light. I always loved this album and it's on my phone. I actually jog to this play list. Yup, me, good old Kitter Kat is jogging again and trying to get back into shape so I can go back to martial arts. Go me!

Drowned World/Substitute for Love lyrics that just fit our favorite couple:

Famous faces, far off places  
Trinkets I can buy  
No handsome stranger, heady danger  
Drug that I can try  
No ferris wheel, no heart to steal  
No laughter in the dark  
No one-night stand, no far-off land  
No fire that I can spark

That aside, it fights, in so many ways to what I've been writing. While the order isn't the way I would expect on the album for the story itself, it doesn't mean that it isn't inspiring me to keep writing, just like all of you!

Swim and Ray of Light are a huge part of this chapter. They're available from grooveshark, spotify and youtube if you want to listen as you read. This chapter definitely fits the beginning of the album pretty well including Drowned World/Substitute for Love. Some old school Madonna mixed with my favorite celtic reels meant for some amazeballs story telling for this chapter which was delayed in posting the evening of 5/24 because I have a class to prep for tomorrow.

This chapter opens up my retelling and lets you know exactly how much control I have as the writer. No tomatoes please.

The Guardian  
Chapter Sixteen: Daughter of Arus

"My daughter ..."

The consuming darkness is filled by turnaround of her father's voice, a sound she has longed to hear for far too long.

"My dearest child," a second voice calls sadly from the distance.

She gasped, a sob escape her lips in the base of a fluttering heartbeat. "Mother!"

She was falling and she couldn't see where she was. Why was it so dark?

"Lulu! Lulu! Tag Lulu! Your it!"

She felt barely there fingers press into her arm. "Leonine?"

"Oh Lulu, look at you, your a mess!" A pair of fingers brushed tears from her eyes as the blinked, thing to clear away he nothingness. "Gally! Please don't to!"

"Oh look!" A self assured voice called as a figure with long red hair appeared before her. "Why look, it's my Aunt!"

The girls green eyes and freckles caused her to gasp.

"You know, just because my ship when all explodie and my parents died, doesn't necessarily mean we're gone forever."

The image before her was lanky, her hair in a pony tail that fell to her waist, leaning on a staff.

"Larmina, you're beautiful," she whispered sadly as she reached out to touch the girl before her.

"Hey now," she napped in surprise, "none of that."

Allura blinked in surprise. "Where am I? What happened?"

She heard her father sigh and Larmina waved as she floated off into the darkness.

"You are in the place that is between life and death. It seems by encountering the commander so young and being bound to him the future has changed. The rates and the keepers of time all argue over what it is that will become of all of you."

Her jaw dropped as her father and mother both appeared before her.

Her breath came in shallow gasps as she stepped forward. "You're here. You're really here," she whispered as the came forward to embrace her.

"My darling, the time has come to make a very important decision. But in order to do so, before you make your decision you must understand the consequences of the decisions you will make for each decision comes with great responsibility and tremendous cost."

Her mother's hands cupped her face and Allura felt the love she had been longing for from her mother for so long flood into her heart.

"I don't understand," she whispered.

"You do not have to understand. For now, you must come and watch."

Allura blinked in surprise as the world around them exploded into life.

She was back in castle control, Roland Rider was crouched over her and Orla was sobbing as Lord Davishire paced in a flurry of motion. "Why isn't she breathing," the hysterical woman sobbed.

Roland stared up at the screen, the Lions were fighting the robeast that bore down on them.

Roland let out a gasp as his fingers pressed into her neck and realized her heart was still beating and Roxxy was already breathing for her.

The sounds of the newly minted Voltron pilots in combat bounced off the walls of the control room.

"We need something bigger Cap!" Pidge cried.

"I know Shorty! Sven, we need to form up." Keith answered.

"Hunk! Look out!" Lance warned only to be answered by Hunk's warbling cry as the Yellow Lion was knocked aside.

"Sven we need to knock it down." Keith called, "come on lets try to knock it over. Sven and I will go low, Lance, Pidge, go high. We need to get Hunk a chance to recover."

There were four cries as they failed. Lance finally grunted out, "we don't have that kind of fire power as lions."

"Lulu knows the sequence. Lulu! Come on Lulu I need you! You have to tell us what to do!"

Panicked looks were tossed back and forth. Allura did not stir.

"Please, my darling, please! We need you!" Orla cried, shaking her by the shoulders.

"Lulu! Coran why isn't she answering!"

"Your highness, she isn't conscious," Coran answered grimly.

"No! Coran you don't understand, she isn't answering me! Even in her sleep she should answer me!"

The battle was long, eventually the robeast was defeated by knocking it into the Volcano. When Keith and the others returned, he pulled her into his arms but she was no longer breathing. A roar of rage unlike anything she had ever heard filled her ears.

She sobbed as she covered her ears dropping to her knees beside him. "No! No Keith! I'm here! I'm not gone I'm here! Please! Mother… father! why are you showing me this."

The world spun around her as time flashed by. Eventually, the Voltron Force would defeat the forces of Doom and Arus would flourish. Once the Dowager Queen married again and gave birth by some miracle Keith abdicated the thrown and simply vanished.

Arus would live on under a new Prince, but she found later that Keith, struggling without her every step of the way would take his own life.

"No," she whimpered as she stared down at his lifeless body, his black hair streaked with silver. "It can't end this way."

Time sped backwards, this time when Keith stumbled weakly into Castle Control and pulled her into his arms she gasped and greedily filled her lungs with the air they had been burning for. She was alive, dizzy and dazed but alive.

She watched again as time flashed forward. This time she watched as they both grew stronger and eventually were able to tolerate separation by vast distances. They'd decided to wait for children and she was found by Lotor the Conqueror.

To her horror, after Zarkon was defeated by political unrest on his own planet, Lotor managed after several attempts to abduct her. Using her as a pawn, he tried to force Keith to give up Voltron in exchange for her life. Telling Keith each step of the way how much she loved him she would wrestle Lotor for his lazon sword. Ultimately Lotor would catch her in his arms, but failed to pin her arms against her side.

With a moment of inspired determination she would thrust his blade into his back and misjudged the strength it required to do so with the powerful weapon. The blade embedded itself into her heart and she died instantly.

"Why are you showing me this?" She asked again, this time clinging to he father. "Why must it all end this way?"

"My daughter, these are not the only futures. There are more options, though you will not remember which you choose, the road will never be easily walked."

Forced to relive horror after horror she watched as different knights would fall, several time as Keith would be murdered by Lotor in an attempt to fully possess her and in the end she stared at the futures before her trying to weigh which was the lesser of all the evils she had been shown.

Trying not to be focused on her own needs and happiness, she turned to her mother, her eyes burning, but no longer able to shed tears.

"How?" She asked, "how? Why? How do I end up being the one who has to decide who dies."

Her mother sighed. "It is the weight of the crown, my dearest. There will always be costs and consequences to every decision we make and in the end, no matter how hard it is that we try we may not be able to save everyone, let alone ourselves."

"I choose to live and I choose to fight," she whispered. "But I also know what will happen if our world is left without guidance, without our family to guide and protect it."

"You must watch and prepare," the voice of the Black Lion, Kurojishi echoed around them. "But you must prepare for the future. And you must choose."

She turned to the image of a black lion which padded toward her, it's golden eyes staring at her. "We, the Lion spirits which were once one, chose you as our avatar."

Akajishi's playful voice joined the black as a lion the color of blood formed before them. "We knew you would ensure that our chosen would find us and fly."

Midorijishi, a lion of white with the greenest eyes appeared and rolled onto his side before staring at her impatiently. "You already know what you must do."

Kijishi, a lion the color of the setting son sighed as his body formed. "Your destiny is not to be hidden away under the ground. You have already chosen to live and to fight. Who's place will you take."

Aojishi sat on her haunches beside her, silvery white fir glowing, her blue eyes staring at her pride. "The time has come to choose, our dearest one. Have you decided?"

"Why must it be me? You've shown me so many futures. There is turmoil but so much happiness to be found despite the pain of the losses we experience. Each of them has a life, a brilliant and beautiful life. How could I take that away from any of them?"

"Our time grows short," Aojishi called gently, her spirit fading. "they need us and you must decide."

_Lulu! Please Lulu! I didn't travel across the universe to lose you now. You have to wake up! Lulu we need you!_

Her lip trembled as her family faded away, Kurojishi bounding back toward the battle.

And one by one the spirits of the lions returned to their pilots accept for one.

With tears burning their way down her cheeks she stepped forward and whispered an apology before turning to kneel before the last remaining lion. "I choose you, if you will have me."

_Lulu! Please! You have to breath! Why aren't you answering me! Lulu! Lulu!_

Keith's voice in the back of her mind became more and more insistent. With a roar the lion's spirit bounded toward her, fading into nothingness as it disappeared.

"While you may not remember," her mother's voice whispered in the darkness, "know that we are always with you…."

_Lulu! Wake up!_

His cries pounded inter head with the force of a bomb.

Gasping, air forcefully filled her lungs and she fought against the pinpricks of unconsciousness that threatened to carry her away. Despite Roxxy's hands trying to keep her down she pushed her friend away and rose.

"Help me," she wheezed, hating for the fact that she was asking for help again in supporting and moving herself.

Ephraim and Roland helped her to her feet, her meager weight distributed between them while Roxxy glared at her back, mumbling under her breath about doctors making horrible patients.

The colonnade, now back in it's resting position was nothing more than a slight step up, but she stumbled over it.  
She felt as though something had changed in her life and that the fates were planning her life without her consent, but now wasn't the time to dwell on it.

Her voice, filled with breathless amazement and wonder began to breath airily into the com. "You must be in free fall. The black lion must be in the lead. Green and Red, then Blue and Yellow must follow."

"You heard the lady," Keith called, relief evident in his voice.

"Five thousand feet should do it," she called.

Coran pushed the command chair up behind her and helped to pull her into it.

She listened as Keith called out their altitude. When he reached five thousand she began to call the transformation. "Active interlocks by turning controls from horizontal to vertical."

"Activate interlocks!" Keith shouted.

"Dynotherms must connect, you do this by pressing depressing the golden button on your console that represents your lion. While the dynotherm connection has other uses in other positions, the button represented your position in the formation should be flashing and a star panel will slide up and lock into place, lighting position for each lion as the dynotherms charge."

"Dynotherms connected!" Keith cried.

"Infracels must be up, they give you access to your main shared power supply ad your monitor for it will rise between the control handles. It's like shifting from first to second gear and the control handles will lock in place."

"Infracels up!" Keith ordered.

On his control panel panel, two new consoles polled up and he watched in surprise as the key he had placed changed positions.

"Megathrusters must be engaged. Pull the hands toward you and they'll shift like going into there gear. You'll feel them catch as they lock in place. And the two weapons array controls will unfold from behind the console to align with power monitor."

"Megathrusters are go!"

She felt her heart racing. She could hear the cockpits of the lions changing through the com and racing toward them in the sky was the robeast.

They all held their breaths as legs of the red, green, blue and yellow lions folded in and Keith, at the urging of Kurojishi began to issue additional orders.

"Form feet and legs!" Yellow and blue folded up at the middle, their legs and tails locked into place at their sides.

"Form arms and body!" The legs of green and red retracted, their tails forming a pivoting joint as the black lions fore legs folded up and slid into it's panel at the base of it's now unfolded wings before it's head rolled back.

She cold see the image from Keith's cockpit jerk as each lion attached to his.

She held her breath as his voice cried out over the com, "And I'll form the head!"

A cheer filled the control room and they watched as Voltron engaged the robeast.

Unfortunately, the mighty robot's rebirth drew the attention of the entire Drule fleet toward the castle.

While Voltron was occupied by the robeast, the castle took heavy fire, several of it's parapets beginning to crumble and fall.

Her eyes, filled with fear widened. "We must get underground," Coran ordered.

Allura nodded, but they couldn't take the zip down. Roxxy was already pulling her princess to her feet as she and Lord Rider half dragged, half carried her, hurrying through the down the old stare well to the lift, as the doors sealed behind them and the elevator plummeted into the depths of the Gradem, Allura collapsed in exhaustion against the glass, sliding slowly to the floor. She hated feeling faint.

"Some days," Roxxy laughed nervously, "it just doesn't pay to live in a castle."

The Lords groaned as the lift car shivered. It wold be some time before the reached the bottom and all she could do was pray that by some miracle there weren't going to be any major casualties.


	17. Chapter Seventeen: To See the Sky

Hi Everyone,

Happy weekend everyone! It seems our foreword momentum continues. As of yet, I am thrilled to say I have not seen any rotten tomatoes over the last chapter. I thought that there would be some complaints, but luckily there haven't been any. /cheer

This is a big week for me and the Hubster. Tuesday they announce new schedule at work, which is either going to be amazing and exciting, or go epically and horrifically wrong. Amazing and exciting, the Hubster and I have matching start and end times with at least one overlapping day off. Epically and horrifically wrong, he gets first shift, I get third shift and there's no way for him to get home and for me to get the car back to work in time. We'll see what happens, so if I disappear for a few days, that's why.

That said, we're coming up on raiding season. My hubster and I are avid WOW players and our guild is gearing for Siege of Org for summer fun times (Eat sleep raid repeat). If you've got a BNet account and feel like chatting, send me your Battle Tag via private message. For privacy reasons, I cannot give out mine directly or give you my BNet email, but I will send you a tell and let you know… hey it's me! :)

Anyways, the last chapter was amazing for me as an author. I've identified that yes, we're in the Voltron/GoLion universe and that I have control over the lives of the characters. I said once before I wasn't sure if Sven/Takeshi was going to live or not, but in the log run Allura is destined to fly. Since her death means horror for her people and Keith and Keith's death means the same (as established in the last chapter), that means that the remaining heroes sporting knighthood.. well, I won't say when or where it happens, and I'm not going to give you any more hints as to who, but it will happen. When it comes down to it, she has to fly. It will not be possible for her not to when the time comes.

Resources:

It occurred to me that not everyone is up on the GoLion differences, so I thought I'd share the wiki post I use for names and such, while some are slightly off, they're intended to be based on how I feel the name would have been if it was Anglicized/Celtic for families and landmarks. [  
en. wikipedia wiki / Beast_King_GoLion ]

Play list for this chapter (and I almost wrote episode): Thrift Shop (Bart & Baker Eleectro Swing Club Remix) - Scott Bradlee and the Post Modern Jukebox, Radioactive and Demons by Imagine Dragons, Stonger - Daft Punk ft. Kanye West, Tanelorn (Intro to the Void) and The Edge by Blind Guardian, Bones by Gary Allen, Titanium by David Guetta ft. Sia

Seriously, give the Scott Bradlee, Post Modern Jukebox version of Thrift shop (remixed) a go. Love them. :)

Chapter Seventeen: Gradem Fortress

Beneath the Castle of Lions, buried beneath layers of earth and rock, the Gradem Fortress shivered and shook. Above it, the remains of their lost civilization collapsed in a ball of fire. The force of the impact caused debris and dust from the cavern ceiling.

Allura could feel the panic of her people pressing in upon her in addition to the driving pull that threatened to physically drag her to the surface.

With the panic of her people, her heart sped, her mouth watered and she simply could not breath.

"Lulu!" Roxxy snapped, as she came out of her stupor. "Lulu! You must get a hold of yourself."

Above them, in the skies over Arus, she felt a moment of blind rage, horror and panic race through Keith. Lulu!

_We made it back underground. _

She couldn't catch her breath. It was just like the invasion all over again and she was helpless.

_You aren't helpless. You're a fighter. Get on your feet and start fighting!_

She blinked in the wake of the order. Seconds later her connection to him went quiet. While she could feel him, his thoughts were cut off from her.

Worry creasing her brow she managed to pull herself together. "What do we do now?"

Coran folded his arms as the lift settled in the Gradem Fortress before his eyes grew wide. "Yes, there is something! It may just work."

She watched as he unexpectedly pulled her to her feet. "Highness, with me. Trust me."

She nodded weakly, trying to ignore the surges of fear that broke through their bond. She cold not be a distraction to him now. He knew she was safe and that was the most important thing to him at the moment.

Allura found herself confused as Coran led them through the hallways of the fortress to the archives. His shoulders were back, his chest was slightly puffed out and he was striding forward with purpose, Allura on his arm with her Aunt, guard, and two lords following them.

Roxxy made sure she was settled into a comfortable armchair as Coran began scanning through files in the archives. "I know it is here," he mumbled under his breath.

Allura blinked in surprise, watching Ephraim and Roland read over his shoulder. "What is here?"

Orla, standing on the other side of the display was tapping the bridge of her nose thoughtfully. "Coran, if I knew what you were looking for, I could help."

He sighed, a hand combing through his hair before he returned his focus to the monitor. "Here!"

Helping Allura back to her feet, Roxxy did her best to support the younger woman as she stood on trembling legs. "What is it?"

Orla gasped and let out a cheer. "Yes! Coran! This is exactly what we need."

"What is it that we need," Allura asked softly.

"A fortress, an armed fortress able to stand as a symbol, just as Voltron does that is able to protect the main entrance not only to our underground world, but protect our spaceport as well."

"Where would we get something like that? It's not like we could build it overnight," she said, rubbing her temples. The throbbing in the back of her head was growing stronger by the minute.

"We don't have to get something like that, Allura. It's already here."

She blinked in surprise. "What do you mean already here?"

Orla was smiling. "Yes! It is here. Why couldn't we see it before."

"Because it was hidden beneath Arus, just like the rest of our civilization," he said, as he adjusted his bow tie out of nervous habit.

"Do you mean here's a way to move the fortress to the surface," she finally asked, the feeling of wonder when she saw Voltron reformed filling her with hope.

"More so, your highness. I'm saying that the fortress is far more than we expected. Look here," he instructed.

She watched as the schematics were manipulated. Beneath the very room they were standing in were hundreds of levels that had been collapsed upon each other like a fallen house of cards. Not only were they capable of unfolding and expanding upwards to tower over the law in the place the Castle of Lions once stood, it could also fly!

Her jaw dropped. The top of the fortress, would be capable of separating from it's base and flying as a combat ready destroyer.

"The medical center, all three floors and the archives would make up the lowest levels of the fortress above ground," she whispered. "How is this even possible?"

"How is an advanced civilization, like our own, hidden a mile beneath the surface of a dead world possible," was his own question. She watched as he turned through the electronic pages, humming to himself every now and then. "Allura, it's all through the planning of our ancestors."

"Do you mean that this fortress could help protect our people?" Orla asked.

Coran nodded, pointing out the turrets and what appeared weapons bays.

"How?" Roxxy asked, steadying Allura again as she began to pitch away from her.

"I'm not entirely sure," he answered.

Allura sighed. "What good is a fortress if no one knows how to activate it and raise it to the surface."

Dizziness overwhelmed her. She didn't know how much of the physical separation she could take.

"Lulu," Roxxy hissed into her ear. "Stay with me."

"Is there anything," Roland asked, "that would indicate how and where to activate the fortress?"

Ephraim shook his head. "No, it wouldn't be in the blue prints."

"Why?" Orla asked, "why keep something so vital from being found in our time of need?"

Ephraim sighed, "his majesty had the secret buried with him."

"My father?"

The man nodded. "It was his wish that we build a fail safe into his tomb. The activation mechanism is on your father's sarcophagus."

"How did you know?"

Ephraim sighed. The man had honestly disliked the idea of Keith's existence in the beginning, but to see him take the Black Lion out and successfully form Voltron meant that any of the doubts he had were already gone."There were those of us that were brought into your father's confidence. I honestly believe he never had the chance to tell you because the invasion occurred so quickly, so completely and without mercy or warning."

"My Lord Davishire," Orla said softly, "I would trust that you would show us how to activate the the fortress itself. I fear that our heroes, though having the strength to fly our lions and form Voltron, we've thrown them into the fire by not allowing them the chance to familiarize themselves with their ships. They need all the support that we can give them."

Keith screamed as the castle fell. "LULU! LULU!"

_We made it back underground. _

Relief flooded through him as hinds pulled on the controls. There was a feeling of helplessness reaching toward him from below ground that made him growl. "Team we have to get it together. Weapons check. Do we have any idea what kind of capabilities this thing should have?"

_You aren't helpless. You're a fighter. Get on your feet and start fighting,_ he told her before focusing to quiet the link between them. He needed to focus on his team and the monster that that was bearing down on them.

"Sword!" Lance suddenly called out. "Voltron has a sword! Jyuoken, the Ten Kings Sworrd!"

Keith nodded, as the team managed to block the physical punch of the robeast.

"Come on," Keith grumbled, "there has to be a way to get that thing out here."

"Missiles! Missiles!" Hunk suddenly cried, needing something todeflect a kick that headed toward the head of the lion where his cockpit rested. To their surprise, the lion's mouth opened and a missile flew directly into the beasts foot.

Lance, knowing his lion was born of fire had an idea. "Fire! Fire! Lion torch!"

Keith watched with wide eyes as the red arm of Voltron swung forward, fire spewing from it's mouth as cold clocked the robeast.

"Did that just happen?" Sven asked over the sound of Lance and Hunk cheering.

Keith's eyes lit up with understanding. "Form Blazing Sword!"

Voltrons right arm pulled back and the lion shaped hands of Votlron clanged together.

There was a hum of power and when the green and red lion shaped hands separated, Voltron's face was staring at it's right hand, mouth open in the same O of surprise that was on Keith's face as a brilliant sword formed between them, the hilt resting in the maw of the Red Lion.

The green lion roared as Voltron touched down and began running toward the floundering monster.

Slicing through the creature in a single blow that ripped it from stem to stern, it fell in a fantastic explosion.

Turning Voltron toward the hill the castle once stood upon, took four running steps before leaping into the sky toward the ships swarming the smoking rubble.

Anger fueled the Black Lion pilot, now standing sitting in the command seat of the universe's most mighty defender as another coffin shaped ship dropped to the ground un the remains of the castle.

"Ugh! Another one?" Pidge cried out in surprise. "Do these guy just have a cache of these things waiting around somewhere?"

"I don't know, Shorty," Sven answered, "but we need to be able to take out whatever they throw at us."

"Keith, the missile thing and the sword thing worked. Do you think there are other weapons we can use," Hunk asked.

"Guys, we may need to spend a lot of time in the near future training in this ships, but for now that half beast man that they just dropped needs to go. We can test weapons capabilities later, but for now, I'm sure there are a lot of people underground that felt the castle go down and we need to make sure that whoever that is does not find the way down."

Lance nodded, his face appearing on a monitor to his right. "Keith, that means we need to get our ship back from the battlecruiser, maybe even destroy the cruiser itself. The only way to stop that guy from talking is to take him in or bring them all down."

"I know our way isn't normally going for the kill, but there are millions underground that need to be protected from whatever that fool tells them," Sven insisted.

"Chief, we're here and we'll do whatever needs to be done. Right now we got a sword and as far as I can tell that gives us the one up on that ship. Can we ignore the robeast for now and do what we can about the flag ship?" Pidge asked.

"Pidge is right, Keith. There's no castle left to defend at the moment and she's safe or you'd be going off the handle. That robeast has to just be a distraction so they can try to get away and warn Zarkon about what happened here."

"Hunk, you're right. You're all right. We need to stop that ship from breaking atmo," he told them, "go lions! Get that one!"

Voltron turned, a dark look on his metallic face, golden eyes glowing with determination.

"Advance your megathrusters," Keith ordered, pleased by how quickly the ship accelerated. Ignoring fighters and the smaller ships in the fleet Voltron appeared to have only one target.

Frigets and carriers moved around the battle cruiser, attempting to fend off the attack launching heavy ballistics at the robot that barreled through the air.

Sword clutched in both hands, the blade pierced the hull of the ship.

Voltron shuddered as arms and head pushed into the warship. With a cry the right arm of Voltron swung, slicing through the crippled vessel before it forced its way forward.

The sword disappeared and Voltorn drew his arms and legs towards the center of his mass before throwing arms and legs out away and away.

Separating, the lion ships in reformed, the force of their attack carrying them through the swarm made of Drule forces. Blue Lion plowed through pair of frigates before Sven was able to regain control.

When Keith checked his monitors he realized the bulk of the Black Lion was now wedged in the command deck, legs extended back behind him, his forelegs still tucked into the back of his craft.

Kurojishi roared in triumph, the sound escaping from the jaws of his physical body as the ship exploded around him.

As the cruiser broke a part, the Cassiopeia falling toward the surface and only the Black Lion remained in the sky where the command vessel once floated. "Reassemble!"

The other four lions, as though bouncing of a wall bounced back toward him, as they were still in their formation configuration the lions simple reattached without ceremony.

"What…" Pidge gasped.

"A…" Hunk continued for him.

"Rush!" Lance cackled almost gleefully.

"I've never flown anything this responsive in my life," Sven marveled allowed.

Voltron spun around, his jaw dropping just like the jaws of his pilots. "What the hell is that!"

There, on the hill where the Castle of Lions once stood, a metallic fortress shined. "Where did that come from," Lance nearly squeaked.

"Do you think she knew it was there?" Pidge asked.

Communications sjapped, popped and screeched. Keith resisted the urge to cover his ears.

"Voltron Force" a familiar voice called over long range communications, "this is Gradem Control. Do you read us, over."

He could feel her in the back of his head, excited.

"Control, we read you loud and clear."

There was a cheer as the image on the telescanner crackled to life. Still propped up by Roxxy was Allura, around her two men he'd never met, Coran, the Dowager Queen and several dozen guards, all cheering.

"Gentleman," Coran said, turning away from the monitor. "Arm the cannons and fire at will at any of the remaining enemy vessels. Voltron force, dispatch of the robeast monster."

"Roger that Coran," Keith acknowledged as Voltron turned toward beast now stalking toward the castle. It roared in confusion as it took a barrage of cannon fire before turning back toward Voltron who hovered triumphantly in the sky. "Form Blazing Sword!"

Lance responded to the command, "with pleasure!"

Not bothering to waste time Voltron dove toward the surface. It tried to defend itself, shooting spears and launching missiles at Voltron who dodged each projectile before severing the head from the beasts shoulder's with single blow.

"All right guys, separate and -"

"Look Keith! They're leaving," Pidge gasped as they disassembled.

"Have you ever seen Zarkon's forces from this vantage point in any sort of coverage, ever," Hunk asked.

Keith shook his head. "No Hunk, I haven't but we can't assume this is a victory we can repeat in the future. We need to be prepared for whatever old scaly throws at us."

"Keith," Allura called as Roxxy helped maneuver her front and center. "Keith, the fortress has an advanced communications array. Lord Davishire posits that if Voltron were to move into orbit that we cold use Voltron to boost the signal and contact the Alliance."

"We can call Dad," Lance whispered. "Can we try? Mom needs to know that we mad it."

Keith nodded. "Lets do it."

Shooting into the sky, Keith felt the pull on his bond with Allura snap into place. She gasped and collapsed back into Roxxy.

"No -" she hissed through gritted teeth. "Go. We need to know as soon as possible -"

Gritting his teeth Keith pushed Voltron upward and he cried out in pain as Voltron finally freed himself from Arus.

"Make it fast," he groaned.

She nodded on the screen, her nose beginning to bleed. "Gradem Fortress, planet Arus to calling Galaxy Garrison. Gradem Fortress, planet Arus calling Galaxy Garrison. Come in Galaxy Garrison," she called.

Roxxy caught her again as her knees buckled and motioned for help, hissing a warning to those gathered around them. "We don't have long. They better make it fa -"

"Admiral McClain to Gradem Fortress, we read you loud and clear, go ahead Gradem Fortress."

"Don't you mean go ahead Voltron Force?" Lance called, the focus of the communication shifting to the red lion's cockpit.

"Lance! You made it? Dear God you made it!"

Relief was evident on Charle's McClain's face.

"We're using Voltron as a relay and wanted to establish communications as quickly as possible," Keith grunted out through his teeth.

"Your highness," Charles greeted his adopted son.

Keith nodded, blood beginning to drip out of his nose. He sniffed and wiped his nose with the back of his gloved hand, smearing blood across his upper lip.

"Keith, you're injured. What happened?"

"Some noble decided to go on a joy ride in our ship to meet up with the enemy and they dropped a pair of robeasts," Keith said, his eyelids beginning to droop. "We'll re-establish contact as soon as possible. Voltron and Gradem Fortress out."

Voltron wavered as gravity pulled him back toward Arus. Using their blasters to force them into the Arusian atmosphere, Voltron's fall accelerated.

"Lance -" Keith groaned. "I need some help - " 


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Bones

With some of the interactions that occur in GoLion verse how they were presented in Voltron, I feel that I need to worn you that I may need to up the rating on this story in the future. If that time approaches, I promise to give you several chapters warning and all of that aside, my cloud ate the first version of this chapter. What that means is that in it's rewrite the characters took over and did their own darn thing and now I have about fifteen chapters to rewrite. ***grumbles***

Now with thunder, ominous clouds in the sky and Gary Allen singing the PBR (Professional Bull Riding) theme "Bonses" in my ears at an incredibly loud volume, I hammered out a a rewrite.

Well I've been out here diggin' a hole, and the madder I get the deeper I go.  
Maybe you're thinkin' I'm a fool, or maybe I'm diggin' this hole for you,

I've got bones to pick with you, I should have known you can't be true.  
Me and the devil, we want what's due.  
And you should know that when you get home, that I got bones to pick with you

To note, I believe the rewrite is better even if a plot bunny jumped out unexpectedly and grabbed me.

Note: Javla helveta! roughly translates to 'Fucking hell'

The Guardian  
Chapter Eighteen: Bones

Voltron was being drawn back toward the surface of Aurs by her gravitational pull, at first it wasn't noticeable, a gentle tug from space space. When you looked out at the vastness and beauty of the stars, there wasn't much to compare it to until the 11.6 meters per second per second acceleration brought them into the atmosphere and Keith's voice reaching their ears that they knew they were in trouble.

"Lance -" Keith groaned. "I need some help - "

"Shorty, I need estimates on how long before we hit terminal velocity and how long we have until we hit the surface in free fall! Do it now!" Sven yelled.

"About two minutes for terminal velocity without any sort of engine boost. Free fall for about thirteen minutes," the boy genius chattered.

"Lance, I don't have any internal emergency access that will take me up. Is there anything that could take you over to the Black Lion?"

"Nothing, Sven." Lance answered while Pidge chirped an additional affirmative.

On the com from control, there was panic. Sven glared daggers at the video fed transwaver. "Hunk shut that damn thing off I can't think!"

The feed to the castle clicked off and Sven let out a breath of relief.

"Fire retroboosters," Sven yelled.

Like magic, the mech obeyed, but they did little to noting to slow their descent.

"Fire stableizers!" Still nothing.

"Lance, Hunk, work on getting control transferred to the Red Lion. Damn it, Kogane! Snap out of it. You aren't a princess, fainting doesn't suit you."

"Sven, with all these damn computers you would think there was a manual -" Lance was cut off.

"Javla helveta!" He could almost hear his team's confusion, but it didn't matter. "There has to be something."

"Sven, by the time we reach altitude that was could eject from, we wouldn't be able to at the speed we'll be falling -"

"Not now shorty!" Sven hissed. "Recommendations?"

"Full disassemble, we could carry Black down," Hunk suggested.

Sven nodded. "Do it!"

Lance sighed. "Like I said, Sven. No operating manual and Princess and Keith are both out."

For the second time, Sven could hear her in his mind. _They have found a solution_, Aojishi whispered. _How long will you allow them to believe they are in mortal peril?_

Kurojishi growled in response. _They needed to find a solution without our aid. Now that they have it, we should make ourselves known._

_Kurojishi, are you taking your body? _ Akajishi asked.

_With all of you together, I have the strength to do so for several moments._ Kurojishi answered.

There were sounds of agreement from all five of the lions before Voltron rolled over to face the ground. His arms released from his body, gravity pulling them from his sides at the same time his feet slipped off the hind legs of the black lion.

The megathrusters shifted down and the infracels sank back into their console. Dynotherms disengaged returning and the interlock released. In several short moments the lions legs extended before control was returned to their pilots.

Kurojishi roared as he felt his mechanical body respond to him, in seconds his legs were down and he was in control. Did you truly believe we would call you for so far away to have you die? Be warned, I will not have control of this body for long.

"Hunk! Catch Black Lion," Sven ordered.

Thanks to the miracle that was Voltron, Hunk moved into position, the weight of the Black Lion settling awkwardly onto Yellow Lion's back.

"Lance, Pidge, return your ships to their dens. Hunk set Black Lion down outside of the castle and get Keith inside," he continued.

"No way! The Lions can wait for a few hours if they need to. We need to get Keith to the Princess," Lance hissed.

"Lance, we have at least one Lion out of commission and we can't guarantee when the Drule forces will return. Our Lions need to be at the points of easiest access and that is through the colonnade in the control room, which I am certain remains. I want to be there when we land too, but we can't forgo the safety of the planet. He wouldn't want that."

Sven heard Lance rage, something completely unintelligible over the sheer volume of the sound that escaped Keith's adopted brother.

He watched as Red and Green Lion's both changed their trajectory before pointing the nose of his Lion toward to lake outside of the castle.

For now, Sven could only hope that they weren't too late.

Roxxy was pacing at the main above ground entrance to the Castle of Lions when the Yellow Lion carefully shrug off the still form of the Black which now lay curled up on it's side.

The moment the smaller lion was clear she was scrambling up the side of the Lion and into it through the emergency hatch.

"Please be alive," she chanted under her breath as she pulled herself into the cockpit and half crawled along a wall to the command chair he was suspended from. Relieved that the restraints held, she stood on the tips of her toes and pressed her fingers into his neck.

There, thrumming steadily against her finger tips, the beating of his heart.

There was a thud behind her and she knew that the strong man, Hunk Garrett, pilot of the Yellow Lion had joined her. Without looking she issued a medical order, "we need to get him inside, now."

"I don't know exactly who you are," Hunk began.

She turned toward him and cut him off. "I'm her doctor. That makes me his doctor and if you want either of them to open their eyes again you're going to help me get him down, out of this damn death trap and into the castle. We're running out of time."

Hunk, standing nearly head and shoulders above Roxxy on his own feet reached up and unbuckle the harness that secured Keith to his seat and let out a grown as he was released into their arms. The bumped heads as they struggled to position him in a way that she could complete a quick assessment.

"No deformities, I don't think he was injured," she muttered. From there, it wasn't easy going, but within a few minutes they managed to maneuver him down to the ground. Once there Hunk hefted Keith over his right shoulder, stumbled for a moment under his weight, before moving as quickly as he could toward the entrance with Roxxy ahead of him waving him on impatiently.

"Where to," he wheezed after they came to an internal lift.

"Fourth floor," she said as the lift doors opened and they stepped inside.

He watched her punch the button on the console and let out a sigh of relief as they were on the move again.

He wedged his right side against the elevator wall until it came to a stop and the doors slid open.

Once he stepped through the doors there was a flurry of activity. Hys was waving and yelling for him to hurry and that her baby was ready.

Hunk wasn't exactly sure what they intended to do with Keith, they weren't in any sort of hospital and he was sure he needed a hospital or medical bay.

"Listen to me," Roxxy said softly as he stepped back into the lift, her hand on his arm. "There's only one thing that can bring them back to us and we're lucky that they're alive at this point. The bond they share, physically they weren't supposed to ever be separated like they were. The moment they touched, it recoiled and is beginning to heal, but their bodies and their minds aren't able to withstand great distances between them while it's healing. And by great distances I mean the space a small room. If we want them to live, we need them in incredibly closed quarters with as much skin to skin contact as possible or they won't ever wake up."

Hunk's lower lip trembled. "You're sure it's the only way? You mean they cold really die."

She nodded. "Please, Hunk. We're going to need your help for just a little longer and then I promise, as soon as I can, we will explain everything."

He nodded and moved carefully down the hall. "Ma'am," he said as he nodded to Hys and slipped into the waiting room.

His eyes widened in surprise. The room was massive and inside the biggest bed he'd ever seen. When he realized that Allura was in the bed, a blanket covering all but her head and bare shoulders he blushed.

"Lay him down next to her highness and help us to get the flight suite off of him," Roxxy ordered.

Hunk scowled as he set lay Keith down. He honestly wasn't sure how he get out of his normal clothes and into a flight suite after he let go of the handle bar at the bottom of the zip line. One second he was in his clothes, the next his clothes were gone and he was in a form fitting flight suite wearing a helmet.

Shrugging he pulled the helmet off of Keith's head while Roxxy and Hys worked on his boots.

After he found the zipper on the side of the white fabric he pulled it down and then hastily stepped back to let the doctor and the woman that Allura was raised by do their work.

Once they had him down to his skivvies he watched them pull the blanket back from unconscious woman and motioned for him to help them again.

With a look of pure embarrassment on his face, Hunk lifted Keith by the shoulders and Roxxy lifted him by his feet and between the two of them they hand him pressed up against his wife who was wearing even less than he was.

Covering them Hys sighed, her hands folded before her in prayer. "How long do you think they'll be out," she finally asked, her brown eyes open and looking down at her charge and her husband.

"I don't know," Roxxy answered. "Lulu only sustained minor bruises in her fall thanks to Lord Rider, but this isn't physical injuries or illness. This is their minds and their souls. Hours, days," she paused. "Maybe longer? They were apart for years, that's something I've certainly never heard of happening before."

Hys sighed. "Well, lets give them some privacy, staring at them won't help them wake up any sooner."

Hunk sighed and thought to himself, _why did we let this happen?_

Roxxy shook her head and answered out loud, "I don't know. Sometimes we have to think for them to make sure they don't do anything stu -"

The burly man jumped, his hand brushing the red haired woman's wrist. Her eyes widened in confusion before she began to curse. "Oh no! Not now! I can't take care of them and figure this out!"

Hys blinked in surprise as she watched the unlikely pair gravitate closer to each other without even knowing it was happening before she began to laugh softly. "Come along you two," she said gently. "It looks as though there is a lot of talking you need to do."

_Wait, did she just hear me?_

Roxxy shook her head. _This is not happening to me._

_What's not happening,_ he thought, his eyes wide and confused.

Hys steered them out of the room, trying not to laugh, but it was hard to keep this kind of amusement to herself.

"Oh my God," Roxxy squeaked. "It really is happening."

Hys watched as they stepped off, walking down the hall together.

"I don't get it, what exactly is going on," she heard him ask just before they turned the corner.

"Coran is not going to believe this," she muttered to herself. "Then again, I don't think anyone would if I told them."


	19. Chapter Nineteen: Brothers

Welcome back for another chapter of "The Guardian."

Here I am with a new chapter for you, and after some of the remaining comments left for me, I thought I'd try to illustrate our amazing knights dealing with the craziness around them. I guess this has to serve as a warning since the rating will need to go up in the next chapter.

I hope you enjoy :)

The Guardian  
Chapter Nineteen: Brothers

Lance had a scowl on his face and was covering his ears. Hunk and Roxxy were arguing. quite loudly in a room designated for recreational use. He, Pidge and Sven sat on the other side of the room, trying to ignore them when the door slid open and a young boy walked inside.

Lance noticed that he was carting a blue blanket, his sleepy eyes being rubbed by his fists.

"Where's 'lura and Keith?" He asked during a brief break in raised voices.

Lance blinked as all eyes turned toward the little boy he remembered from the home they'd piled into the night before.

"Where's my sister?"

Roxxy crossed the room and crouched down, her weight resting on her heels. "Michael? It's two in the morning. Do you want me to wake up Nan?"

His eyes narrowed angrily. "No. I want 'Lura."

Hunk stumbled forward dropping to a knee beside Roxxy and Lance rolled his eyes. Hunk and Roxxy, he didn't see that one coming.

"Hey little man," the big man greeted, his shoulders relaxing slightly now that he was back at Roxxy's side.

Michael, not impressed crossed his arms over his chest. "Rox where is my sister."

Hunk, having an army of brothers and sisters recognized that it wasn't so much about his sister as it was about Michael waking up in a place he didn't recognize, probably from a bad dream.

"You know how Lulu got sick a lot before," Roxxy asked.

Michael nodded, listening to the sound of her voice and meeting her eyes.

"She should be a lot better from now on, but first she has to not be sick anymore and when Keith went to fight the monster with these guys, they both got sick. I promise as soon as they're done resting and they're awake that you'll get to see them."

"But I want to see her now. She tells me stories."

Hunk smiled, "you know, little man, I still have bad dreams sometimes too."

Michael's eyes went wide with wonder. "You do?"

To Lance's surprise, Hunk slowly told a story about the scary dreams he had after their last mission and he watched as the little boy's shoulders slowly fell as he listened to the sound of Hunks voice.

"You really have bad dreams? But you're so big!"

Hunk nodded. "How about you show me your room and I'll help you check your closet, your bathroom and under the bed to make sure there's no monsters. What do you think?"

Michael nodded as Hunk stood, offering a smile to Roxxy who nodded mutely as he offered Michael his hand and led the little boy back out of the rec room and down the hall.

Roxxy stayed back for a few moments before letting out a strange, amused sound, and following.

Lance shook his head. Nothing on a mission is ever what you expect, and this whole thing was one crazy mission.

"Well, they're not fighting anymore," Pidge said as he put down the book he was reading. "I think I'm going to check out the room they fixed up for me. From what Hunk said the house we were assigned fits inside these suites.

Lance shrugged and watched as Pidge wandered off. Finally alone with Sven, his brother's best friend he finally slumped over. "God Sven, I thought we killed him," he finally said.

Sven nodded. "It was definitely nothing like I ever expected. They warned us that the physical separation between them could result in bad things, I just never could have imagined him blacking out like that."

"Doc says it could be days before they wake up. Days! What do we do if Doom attacks between then and now," he asked. "I know we prepared to get here, used every bit of our training to get here, but when we first left, I don't think any of the brass believed we would make it. But here we are, on this planet that until yesterday, I honestly believed was dead and now it's up to us to keep it safe because some lion spirits won't let the bodies they once were part of fly unless we're in the cockpit."

Sven shrugged. "That sums it up pretty well. It was strange to hear Aojishi. I never would have believed that a machine could have a soul but Lance, right before she handed me the key I heard a woman's voice. I swear it was a woman and then when Keith blacked out I heard her again. I think this Aojishi is the Blue Lion."

"The other voice, the one that said it took control of a body, was that the Black Lion," Lance asked, scratching his head.

Sven nodded. "I think it was, but I don't know how or what he did."

Lance leaned back, his head resting on curve of the couch behind him as he stared up at the lights over his head. "The viewer into his Lion scrambled. I remember looking more than once after he ant out and I couldn't see what was going on."

Sven sighed and stood. "I think this is enough speculating for now. We should probably follow Pidge's lead and turn in ourselves. You never know when Zarkon may send another fleet and more of those crazy monsters."

While he agreed, Lance wasn't really sure about actually settling into the quarters he'd been assigned across the hall from where Keith and Allura were locked away. Settling in, unpacking, sleeping in a new bed, it was all part of making this planet a home. Sure his brother needed him, but he still wasn't sure if this place could be a home for him. At the same time, he knew he would always back up Keith and Sven. He'd never turn his back on them.

"I guess that makes this place home, for now," he said to himself before heading to his own quarters.

At least the bed was comfortable.


	20. Chapter Twenty: Champagne and

Notes: I promise they will wake up soon. :)

Chapter Twenty: Champagne and Strawberries

When Charles McClain finally returned home from three days of near constant work and meetings following contact from Planet Arus, he knew he would have hell to pay. Mariah had been more than upset about her boys being sent into the Dark Nebula with no way to reach her and her husbands extended hours were the cause of many arguments between them.

Worse, Charles had been completely unreachable for three days following the late early morning transmission because of meetings, planning and trying to figure out exactly what he was going to do about Arus suddenly coming back online after they'd assumed she had been nearly destroyed.

It was true that his boys had left the service and left for the planet, but when it came down to it there was very little hope that they would safely make it to the blue globe, let alone find much there when they arrived.

He sighed and sat back in the drivers seat for several moments, trying to figure out exactly what he would tell her. For the most part, everything accept the briefing in his briefcase was classified. At the same time, how could he not tell her that for a few moments he talked to both Lance and Keith and that it sounded like they had done the impossible by resurrecting Voltron.

He laughed, reached for his cap, jacket and brief case and climbed out of the car, hoping that he looked as disheveled as he felt after three days of closed door meetings.

What he found when he finally got out of the car was his wife standing on the front porch, her arms crossed, her right foot tapping impatiently.

He was in for it now. He knew better than try to get in a word edgewise until she was done with him.

"Charles McClain!" She snapped, her hands moving to her hips. "No call, no note, not even a text message! Do you have any idea how worried I have been?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but she continued in her tirade.

"Your voice mail is even full! How am I supposed to react when my own husband doesn't respond to my messages on our anniversary! No one would return my calls! I was terrified you'd been deployed and hadn't been given the chance to call me!"

He swallowed hard. Shit, he knew he forgot something. While he anticipated things not going well, he didn't anticipate them being this bad. He wasn't one to normally forget important dates like birthdays or their anniversary.

He sighed. He remembered their anniversary was coming and had ordered a diamond tennis bracelet for her with matching eatings weeks ago. To his dismay he realized he never had the chance to pick them up from the jewelers.

Forcing a smile onto his face he marched up the porch steps and took her hand and kissed the back of it. "Mariah, I know you worry when I can't call and I apologize for not having the chance to pick up your anniversary gift from Willards, but I promise it's there and we will pick it up on Saturday. For now, we should go inside. I have news."

She glared up at him. "What kind of news?"

He smiled and passed the news brief into her hands. Based on the date and time, the announcement wasn't scheduled to be released for several days.

She began to read as she walked and her hand fluttered to her heart. "Communications were acknowledged from Planet Arus by Admiral McClain who was contacted directly by former Lieutenant Lance Charles McClain and former Commander Keith Kogane who announced they had become the Voltron Force."

Mariah dropped the briefing, both of her hands going to her mouth as tears filled her eyes. "They're alive?"

He nodded.

"Lance and Keith are both alive?"

He nodded again and watched as she moved around him to sit in an armchair in the sitting room to the left of the foyer.

She slumped down, her left allow resting on the rounded upholstery, the tips of her fingers pressed against her lips.

"You're certain?"

His coat, cap and suitcase long forgotten he was on bended knee before her. "It was Lance. Your smart mouthed son sounded more than relieved to be able to talk to us. Apparently there's a communications array in this Gradem Fortress and they can use Voltron's communications system to boost signals. We had them on a live feed."

"Oh Charles!" She sobbed, "I was so certain we would never hear or see them again!"

"Am I forgiven for being a horrible husband?"

She nodded. "This calls for celebration. There are a trio of bottles of Louis de Sacy in the wine cellar. We should open one up tonight and save the other two for when we can finally see our boys."

He laughed softly. He knew his wife had an appetite for wine and champagne, but he had not realized she'd been able to acquire any of the Louis de Sacy collection. The house founded in the 1960's in Verzy France had become a museum and stopped producing the sweet spirits nearly eighty years ago after over a thousand years of production and having any of their remaining inventory was quite the feat.

* * *

Over the last three days, Roxxy and Hunk had come to an understanding. It wasn't the greatest situation for them to be in, but at least they were no longer arguing constantly.

She was still very uncomfortable with the idea that anyone could hear her thoughts at any given moment of time and he just didn't really know how to behave or what to expect. Luckily for the unlikely duo, their bond had not been strained like Keith and Allura's had. While they weren't exactly comfortable with the distance put between them when she was working in the Medical Center, it wasn't something they weren't able to tolerate either though she sported a horrific migraine after they boys took the Lions out for practice.

Hys still found the situation amusing. Roxxy couldn't help but mimic the old woman, "to think, if Allura had never bumped into Keith, you would never have found your true love."

She sighed as she rubbed her temples. "True love? Ha! That's what princesses and princes for. Body guards don't get to have true love."

Unfortunately for Roxxy, her commentary was overheard by the object of her ire. Said object had spent hours out in his lion trying to find wild flowers on the surface of the planet only to return with a basket of freshly picked strawberries.

True they had canned fruit down here and there were orchards of fruit growing beneath the planet's surface, the one thing he understood they hadn't been able to get right was the production of strawberries. He'd heard her complaining about the lack of a good strawberries and thought he could show her that he was invested in whatever it was that was happening between them by finding something from the surface she hadn't had the chance to enjoy in years.

He sighed. His eyes brimming with frustrated tears. The woman was beautiful, poised, spoke and acted with the grace of a princess, but had the tongue of a viper. It wasn't hard to be attracted to her and he knew it wasn't just the connection. It was her strength, the courage she'd shown them, the fact that she had always been fighting for and with the princess, not against her. Not only was a she a personal body guard for Lulu, but she managed to come out of what life had given her not only as a body guard but a doctor as well.

Who else had opportunities like that and where able to make what she did out of the situation.

Letting out a huff of frustration, still in his flight suite, Hunk stalked forward, glaring down at her while she was shuffling through paperwork at the desk in the office she had commandeered on the second floor up, and dropped the whiker basket in front of her.

Upset that she'd been disturbed, she opened her mouth to say something that would be considered fairly horrible and saw the stricken look on her face. She nearly apologized when she looked down and found basket filled with plump red strawberries.

Her jaw dropped and her brow knitted together in confusion. Unconsciously, just like the princess had in thought at the breakfast table days before, she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

Whens she finally looked back up again, she realized the migraine she had already seeped away in the brief moments he was with her, and that he was gone.

Smacking herself on the forehead she let out a sigh. She wasn't good at personal relationships and add in the fact that she was a body double for one of the galaxy's most important people and she never felt the drive to consider anything more than an occasional one night stand and now she was messing this up.

She may have been there staring at the basket for quite some time when the klaxon sounded. Pushing herself away from her desk she headed toward control. Maybe she would at least get the chance to offer him a smile or a thought of thanks, but something told her he would already be out in the thick of it by the time she arrived.

She was right.

With a sigh, she watched as four of Voltrons Lions were racing toward the fleet that had been dispatched to Arus. "Coran, what is it," she asked as the colonnade slid back into the floor.

"If I remember correctly, the markings on that ship mean it's Yurak."

"Yurak? Yurak the destoryer? The demon with the vapor technology," she asked.

"I'm afraid so," he answered.

"Roxxy, Coran," the Dowager Queen greeted as she joined them. "Did you just say it's Yurak?"

Coran nodded as his eyes analyzed the telescanner.

The old queen shook her head. "We need all nonessential personal evacuated underground from the fortress. Roxxy, We may need Keith not only awake, but alert and oriented."

"Yea, because almost killing them once wasn't enough. They haven't even woken up from the first time we put that kind of distance between them and I'm not willing to attempt to bring him around. He needs to wake up on his own."

Orla shook her head. "As their doctor, I understand. As her Aunt, I understand. But as a Queen, I have to order it. There is no time."

Please be careful, she whispered toward the man that shared a bond with her, showing him flashes of the city that once was overlooked by the Castle of Lions, now field of grass and young trees. Yurak has the weapon on his ship that so totally devastated the cities of our world. Please be careful.

She heard him gasp and then growl at her angrily, _shut up! I can't deal with you now._

She blinked in anger, her voice echoing in the back of his head _FINE!_

_Fine! _ He responded.

_Fine!_ She yelled back

_Fine! _ Just shut up!

Frustrated she yelled into the com, "Kick that thing's ass so I can kick yours from here into next week!"


	21. Chapter Twenty One: Checkers, War and

Good morrow, my amazing friends and readers,

I wanted to take a moment to respond to comments left in the reviews of this story and I'm fairly sure you will know when the shout out is for you.

Bromance:

Yes, Hunk and Pidge are pretty close. Something about a technical genius and a brilliant mechanic. As you can guess, I have big plans for hunk and there was some foreshadowing for Pidge a bit back (did you miss it?). I'm actually really excited for what I can do with these two over the coming weeks.

For my guest who warned me that they had no tomatoes in their hands:

genius/skilled surgeon/good pilot/beautiful princess/prophetess/avatar. doesn't seem like she is too perfect for a mere mortal? Hmmm... be careful what you wish for, remember that she did just play God and decide someone would die and that plays a lot in this story. Be careful what you ask for, I can promise you that this is definitely already addressed. I won't say when or where, but when it happens, it'll hit you like a ton of 'Oh no, she did not just write that' sort of bricks. :D

Hmm.. no safe jump seat, I think this one is more along the lines of they won't consider putting her in flight because they don't want to risk her royal bits before there is an heir and a spare and then some. Like the 'I think Allura is too good to be true' comments, I think you'll like how we address this in the coming chapters. Luckily this one is something does come up sooner rather than later.

And now, without further babble, on with the show.. err brief, but fun chapter.

The Guardian

Chapter Twenty One: Checkers, War and Connect Four

Pidge and Hunk managed to snag sandwiches before heading up to the rec room. Both were a bit stressed, but for different reasons.

"Hunk, you and Roxxy okay," Pidge asked as they settled in, a worn checker board between them.

Hunk scowled as he placed the black discs on the board, trying to ignore the question. Of course he covered up his embarrassment by shoving his sandwich into his mouth and taking a much larger bite than he should have.

Pidge sighed, nibbled at the crust he'd pulled off the bread and placed his checker pieces on the board as well. "You really think you can avoid the question that easily?"

Hunk ignored him and took the first move on the board.

"Hey big guy! I know that your mad, but come on. You can't just let one girl ruin your day. Just think about it! We launched a robeast into a volcano without Keith, the Black Lion or Voltron! And we were a part of that!"

Hunk sighed, pushing at his plate before throwing the folding game board like a frisbee.

Pidge blinked in surprise. "Well, at least it wasn't your lunch. Now, you going to talk about it?"

"I just don't understand it. We learned so much about how these bond things work and how important they are, and now we're here and poof," Hunk waved his fingers in front of his face for emphasis, "suddenly I have one of them too. Not just any girl, like the girl of my dreams. Smart, funny, beautiful, loves kid, loves this planet that we got sent to for the sake of Keith and his princess and she doesn't want me. She's a body guard, doesn't believe she gets to have something like this."

Hunk trailed off in thought, his lower lip quivering as he started to sob. "I just don't understand it Little Buddy! If it hadn't been for Keith I never would of met her and she doesn't want me. How do I accept that the woman that is meant, no is the other half of my soul doesn't want anything to do with me?"

"Women," Pidge grumbled. "Hunk, I don't know whats going on in her head, but you're the best friend I've ever had. Well, if you don't count my brother Chip and I know it feels weird right now, but maybe she just needs time."

Hunk wiped his eyes with the back of his hand before sniffling. "You think so?"

Pidge nodded. "Think about it, big guy. Keith and the princess, they had two years to get used to the idea of what is going on with them. Something tells me that under normal circumstances that the princess wouldn't be as easy to get along with as she is right now. Maybe it has to do with her being a doctor, but something is just off about her."

"You really think Roxxy just needs time?"

"Well," Pidge sighed, pulling a worn, half falling apart plastic set up for connect four from the same box he pulled the checker board from. "I mean, well. It's not like you're just going to walk up to her, sweep her off her feet and lay one on her. You don't strike me as the type for that."

When Pidge looked up from the plastic contraption that had kept them busy for hours on their transport ship he found Hunk gone, the only remnants of his presence crumbs from his sandwich on his plate. "What I say?"

* * *

Hunk was striding through the halls of the Gradem Fortress with a sens of purpose. No longer dressed in his flight suit he decided he was going to do things right, even if he was worried about wearing a skirt.

Dressed as a knight during ceremony dresses, he was struggling not to fidget or even blush as he passed people in the halls. Every time he started to consider changing his mind he would focus on her presence and follow the invisible thread that connected them together. When he found himself in the emergency intake for the medical center he realized he was blushing, but he didn't care.

Pushing his way passed medical staff he threw open the curtain surrounding a little girl who clinging to her mother and trying to keep Roxxy from looking at an arm that was craddled to her chest. Waving shyly at the mother and daughter, Hunk cleared his throat and Roxxy turned toward him. With a gasp, she turned red with anger, her mouth opening to say something scathing.

Catching her off guard he pulled her into his arms and depped her back. His lips connecting with hers, tongues pressing together of their own wills.

When he felt her quake in his arms he righted them and stepped back. _Just think about it,_ he thought before offering the startled mother and wide eyed girl a half bow. "My ladies," he said, turning on a booted heel and walking off toward the lift with a spring in his step. Maybe he should have talked to Pidge sooner.


	22. Chapter Twenty Two: Sleeping Beauties

Good even my amazing friends!

I know that a lot of you have been on pins and needles waiting for this chapter. Unfortunately was important for Yurak's first official visit to Arus to meet it's end with only four lions (like the anime and the WEP version).

What does this mean? This mean our rating has squeaked up a bit to allow for the big wake up moment. I honestly felt that with everything we've had happen so far that we needed some of the happening while Keith and Allura were out to be fully attended to. There are a few things that still have to happen but you'll find out about them over the next few chapters.

Are you anxious? Have I driven you nuts? Good! Because not getting to this point and skipping the bit about Hunk and Roxxy just wasn't my style.

And yes, I didn't think Hunk had it in him, but he just seemed to think he was and I couldn't stop him.

Chapter Twenty Two: Sleeping Beauties

Roxxy scowled as she left Allura and Keith's suite. Day four was about to begin and they had completed their for the night.

She sighed. IV nutrition, catheters among other embarrassing biological needs taken care of was not her idea of a good time, but after an hour of seeing to their needs, getting them cleaned up before changing the sheets with them still in he bed was more than a feat of strength.

She did note one thing that drew her attention. Keith flinched when they removed the IV and Allura physically fought from being pulled away from him.

Hys noted it as well.

"How much longer?"

Roxxy shrugged, "soon I hope. If they weren't reacting to external stimuli at this point I would have considered an CT for her after the fall she took "

"But you said there was nothing wrong. You saw the file, Roland was able to catch her -"

"That doesn't mean something outside of the bond being tested caused her to collapse."

Hys scowled, her eyes narrowing and looking down her nose at the doctor. "Why haven't you run any sort of tests to make sure before now?"

"The focus has been on the bond for so long that it's hard to focus on anything else, they're going to wake wake up. I'm certain of it."

Hys sighed. "This is something you should have told me sooner."

Roxxy sighed. "If you haven't noticed, I've been distracted."  
The older woman laughed to herself as she replaced the thermos of broth with a pair of fresh ones before motioning for Roxxy to follow her.

"And just what happened now," she asked.

Roxxy blushed as they walked. "Last night while I was in the triage he just barged in on me and my patient, threw the curtain open. He was wearing the kilt, and well, dressed like he would for an official business."

"And," Hys asked, laughter in her eyes. The old woman was truly a romantic at heart.

"And he kissed me."

Hys stopped mid step. "He kissed you?"

Roxxy blushed. "Yes."

"Was it a kiss, or was it a kiss?"

Roxxy stammered, unable to find words.

"I see. And why is that you're so worried about Hunk?"

Hys sighed and watched Roxxy move against the wall and leaning back against it. "I'm a body guard, for her and if something happened and there was any chance that someone could hurt her it would be my job to stand in her place. How can I expect someone to, well, live with that. And you've seen the guys I've dated."

"Perhaps the reason none of those relationships went anywhere was not only because they weren't the right person but also they were the wrong kind of person?"

Roxxy crossed her arms over her chest.

"And have you ever thought that he, as a knight and a pilot galavanting in those lion ships, that he might feel the same way?"

"I really haven't thought about it like that," she said thoughtfully.

Hys nodded and patted the young doctor on the arm. "Our lives," she whispered softly, "are always changing around us. If my heart was still alive." She stopped talking, her hand over her heart. "Do not waste your days away. While I pray you never experience the pain of the losses that I myself experienced, you never know if or when he may be gone."

* * *

He never knew it was possible for his body to feel so heavy. Was this what it would be like to sink with dead weight attached to your hands and feet?

A few moments later he felt lighter and the pressure in the back of his mind lifted leaving only a pleasant warmth of the place in between deep, restful sleep and wakefulness.

Coming into his body was a slow process. The last thing he remembered was hearing his dad's voice, no his adoptive father's voice. Lance told him about Voltron and he felt like something was wrong.

He didn't feel the presence of the pilots seat or the restraints. Stretching his head from side to side he understood that he wasn't wearing his helmet.

The first time he opened his eyes, he squeezed them shut. The light was dim, and while the room was barely lit by silvery light, it was too much.

Sighing he gathered the warmth pressing against him closer and realized that the warmth pressed against him moved ever so slightly in time with him.

Long, slow deep breaths in, long slow deep breaths out.

He was curled into the back of something warm, and that something breathed.

His body was perfectly molded around it.

It smelled like magnolia blossoms and damp thick braid was pressed between them.

His face itched something horrible like he hadn't shaved in days and his stomach was empty, demanding food.

Inhaling again he realized that the smell, the sweet magnolia smell, he'd smelled it before. It was the scent that clung to her skin after her shower the morning before the launched the lions.

Was he dreaming? Maybe Arus had been a dream, but his dream couldn't make up for all of the details he had seen of her and insert him into her life so perfectly.

That was the moment he came into full consciousness, the moment he realized that in being wrapped around her, his arm holding her pressed against his body, her swells of her breasts resting on his arm.

"Lulu," he groaned, as his body came into wakefulness of it's own accord, reacting to her simple presence. "Lulu? Are you okay?"

No response.

He growled under his breath as she sighed in her sleep, wiggling ever so slightly and then relaxing back into his warmth.

_Lulu_, he called into her mind. _Lulu, are you okay?_

_Keith…_ her sleepy response came, sounding as though it was very far away. _Don't make me choose._

_Lulu, don't make you choose what?_

"Don't make me pick who dies, I don't want any of them to die", she mumbled, her body turning toward him, tucking her head into the crook of his neck. _They said I can't remember but I have to pick one._

_Lulu, it's just a dream. Follow my voice. It's time to wake up._

_Don't wanna. Mother is here. I saw Larmina._

Keith blinked in confusion as she retreated farther into the reaches of sleep without him and settled again. To his frustration she no longer answered his calls, but she was pressed up against him a way no woman had ever been before.

Scowling he began to count backwards, trying to force his body to relax, but that wasn't going to happen.

He groaned and rolled onto his back and for a moment he felt a sense of relief fill him until her arm crossed his body and her leg wrapped around his waist to keep him close.

_Okay Keith, how do you get yourself out of this one? Sure she's your wife but you need to spend some time together and getting to know each other in the real world before anything like this could possibly happen._

He was so engrossed in his thoughts and the betrayal of his own body that seemed to have a mind of it's own that he wasn't even aware of the door opening and closing.

With a gasp of surprise he jumped after a small finger tapped his nose.

He held his breath. What the?

"When are you gonna wake up," a familiar voice whined. "I miss my stories and I know Hunk is trying to be nice but his scary story about the ground shaking in California gave me bad dreams. At least its not monsters, but still it was more bad dreams."

The small finger jabbed his nose again and Keith caught the hand. "Michael? What time is it?"

"Nan already got up to make breakfast."

He blinked, his eyes looking around and taking in his surroundings from the window with moonlight streaming through it to the little boy that wandered into the room.

"How long have we been asleep?"

Michael shrugged. "I dunno."

"How long since Voltron fought the monster?"

"Which one?" Michael asked. He didn't like the question game.

"There was more than one?" Keith asked.

"Yup! Hunk and Lance knocked it in the volcano. Roxxy got mad. Auntie wanted her to wake you up but she said that would be bad and you had to get better and to get better you had to sleep. But I got tired of waiting."

"How long since the first monster?"

He counted on his fingers and then held up his hand showing all of his digits but his thumb. "This many!"

"Four days, are you sure?"

Michael scowled, "wouldn't today be five?"

Keith sighed. Talking to a boy that was almost ten wasn't always easy. "Michael, can you go find Roxxy for me?"

Michael shook his head no. "No, no you don't wanna do that. Her and Hunk finally stopped yelling. Hunk kissed her and then they fought more and it's quiet by there room now and I don't wanna wake them up. Hunk gets mad if you wake him up early."  
"What do you mean Hunk kissed her and they've been fighting?"

"Nanna says that Hunk and Roxxy are just like you and 'Lura and that they have to be adults and fix their own darn problems."

Keith blinked in surprise. It was who knows what time in the middle of the night or way too early in the morning and he was getting all of his intel from a boy that was nine or ten. This didn't bode well.

It was timed almost perfectly. Allura groaned at his side, her voice raspy, "Michael?"

The little boy all but threw himself over Keith to tackle his sister and then there was yelling in the hallway.

"It's your fault!" Roxxy screeched.

"How is it my fault that a ten year old wandered out of bed? It's not like we live in a house Roxx. If you haven't noticed we live in a fortress," Hunk yelled back.

"And he cold be anywhere in this fortress! What if he -"

"Roxx, he's a kid. If he's awake this time of night it's because -"

" I know, a bad dream. But I should of known he was awake!"

Hunk groaned on the other side of the door as Allura struggled to wake up. Her little brother was bouncing on the bed beside her now that he hugged her. "I never thought you were gonna wake up! Nanna was getting worried and Coran was all grumpy and even Moody was getting grumpy case he didn't wanna be the captain and now you're awake and you can fix it and make the monsters under my bed go away!"

Allura was still confused and when she realized she was close to naked she squeaked and scooted from Keith's side. "Michael, why don't you go tell Roxxy and Hunk that we're awake and we'll come out for breakfast soon?"

"Really! You promise?"

Allura nodded rubbing her eyes and watched as Michael climbed down and then ran to the door. "You should stop yelling," he called into the hall. "You woke up 'Lura and she's sleepy."

The door closed behind him and there was a flurry of activity on the other side of it.

When she looked at Keith he sighed and collapsed back against the pillows and patted the spot beside him.

Still embarrassed she scooted back toward him, a small space between them where their hands met and clasped together.

"Are you okay," he asked softly.

She nodded. "I think so. This is the first time since you left me in the control room that my head doesn't feel like it's going to pop off my body."

"Same here. So we're both -?"

"Almost naked. Yup."

"And in a room neither of us recognize?"

She nodded and he sighed.

"Wait, did he say Hunk kissed Roxxy," she asked.

"And to think, you were worried about Lance," he teased, rolling up onto his side to look down at her.

"Lulu?" He asked softly.

"Yea, Keith?"

"Can I kiss you," he asked, his mind drifting away.

He saw her smile and nod.

His lips crashed into hers just as the lights in the room came on full as the door opened.

With another sigh he rolled back over and propped himself up to find Roxxy and Hunk standing at the foot of the bed.

"I guess this means they're feeling better, Roxx. We're going back to bed."

Allura and Keith watched in shocked surprise as Hunk pulled Roxxy from the room and steered Michael back into the hall.

"What are you doing," Roxxy hissed.

"Locking the door. Their awake, their healthy, their married and maybe they just need a little time to themselves."

When the door closed behind them and the lights returned to their previous setting Keith and Allura looked at each other and both started laughing.


	23. Chapter Twenty Three: His Personal

My friends,

I am not a tease, but you must realize there is more than one story to be told here? The focus will be moving back to our favorite couple as we move forward, but I need to set the stage for some things that are yet to come.

I do plan to tell the entire GoLion/Voltron story from the original GoLion and DOTU in this AU retelling.

This means that there is an incredible amount of story to come and we've only just encountered Yurak.

While Gradem Fortress rose during Yurak's second attack, I thought it appropriate for the Castle to rise ahead of time. My reasoning is my own.

So far, from the series, we've only gone up against the first mechablack beastman that was only called Prototype, which was tossed into the volcano as expected, so you can imagine that we got a long way to go.

My plan is to have this journey completed before the end of the summer, but that all depends on the characters themselves and where they decide to take us as there is bound to be more than what we saw in the series.

I hope this brings a smile to your face, especially since I have to redo most of what I have with Hunk and Roxxy ending up together, Lotor not being the son of an Arusian, I promise the differences in my story and the originals will be explained as we go forward.

I will soon be flipping a coin and deciding who dies in preparation for Allura joining the team, but at the same time, those plans can change.

There is some new info in my profile about a side project I am working on that is outside of the realms of fanfiction. I'll be updating all of you when I'm ready to get some feedback. :)

Chapter Twenty Three: His Personal Humiliation

Failure of any sort was not acceptable. Yurak knew this before he set off for Arus after the Twelf Fleet reported a horrific defeat in which they encountered Voltron. The Emperor had been furious. Furious enough that he had nearly killed the Empress before the entire court.

The Galran delegation quickly rallied around its lady and already she was retreating to her summer home on Kaori Prime, her son having just completed a victory in the. Tarsus Sector was joining her.

And now he was returning from Arus with his own defeat at the laws of four robot lions. Strangely enough the fifth lion never appeared and Voltron had not been formed. They lost the prototype beast, but he accomplished his mission of observing the enemy in heavy combat.

He had expected clumsy, uncoordinated flies that he could simply crush, what he found was nothing of the sort. These pilots were skilled, coordinated and they thought well on their feet making them a worthy opponent.

Worthy opponents were hard to come by, but a world standing up against them this late in the game could be a game changer. If word got out that Voltron was back they could loose the entire sector.

"Commander Yurak," Chaizza greeted, dropping to a knee before him. He sneered down at the young captain. It wasn't often a woman had the mind for battle, but this woman had shown a keen mind and ferocious spirit and graduated from their own military institution second only to the crown prince Pleasing to the eye he knew it would not be long before the emperor considered making her a bargaining chip for their military with the Galran.

Untouched, unspoiled, and mouthwatering, as all Valkyries were, he often considered what it would be like to take the young Valkyrie to wife. Perhaps after his success in crushing Voltron a second time would ease the emperor enough to grant her as a prize, but those thoughts were a weakness and a distraction.

"Captain," he greeted, motioning for the girl to rise.

"We have intercepted an encrypted sub-frequency data transmission from the Alliance. We're working to decrypt the transmission now."

"Will anyone suspect it was intercepted?"

She smiled up at him, her petite fangs flashing in the overhead lighting, sending a shiver down his spine. "No, my Lord Yurak. In fact they will hardly notice as they aren't expecting the transmission."

"Captain Chaizza, Commander Yurak," a purple skinned, black haired Valkyrie greeted.

The girl had been running and dropped to both her knees, a silver data pad grasped firmly in her well manicured hands, her silvery hair falling over her face like a curtain.

"Lieutenant Ha'lorai, your disruption better be worth it," her captain hissed. It was no secret among her soldiers that the captain desired the commander as much as the commander desired her. They often joked of the cat and mouse game the two leaders participated in when neither were within ear shot.

"A thousand apologies, Lord Commander, Mistress, as you know we were able to intercept a communication from the Alliance to Planet Arus. It was set as a repeating message on a normally unused sub frequency. We've just finished decryption," the young lieutenant stammered.

Relieved that there were no penalties for her unexpected interruption she passed the silver device to her captain before bowing and backing her way out of the room.

Inside, Chaizza was fuming. "Conniving bitch," she roared.

"What is it," Yurak demanded, holding out his hand as he leaned back in the command chair overlooking the flight deck.

She marched forward and placed the data pad in the commander's hand and let out hiss of frustration.

"Personal communications from Earth? Senator Kogane Ichiru to the office of his Royal Highness Prince Keith Kogane? Letters from Admiral McClain? I have no time for this nonsense!"

Chaizza shook her head. "Commander?"

"Impossible! Zarkon slew Princess Allura in chambers on planet Doom months ago. Her personal guard and governness were killed at her side," Yurak growled, scroling through the text.

"Voltron! Arus has no deep space communications abilities! How is it they already found out about Voltron!"

He thrust the tablet into her hands, rising to his feet and pacing in the chamber.

"It does not say, but there is a question from the office of the senator requesting clearance for transport too planet Arus to attend the coronation of her highness Princess Allura Raimon Kogane."

Chaizza paled. "The bitch lives?"

Yurak shook his head. He would need to take this information to the Emperor, but the Emperor would see this as a personal humiliation.

It would not go well and Yurak wondered if it would cost him his head.

* * *

Daibazaal Zarkon was not a pleasant man. Known as an angry drunkard who indulged too much on blood wine and also for needlessly murdering his council when they displeased him.

Fortunately or unfortunately for Yurak the demon king was sober and had not yet touched his golden challice of wine when the commander marched purposefully into the council chamber.

At the heart, the dais rose before him, a red carpet leading up to the thrown upon which Daibazaal Zarkon sat. The man was not one he wished to encounter more than absolutely necessary during his quest to conquer the universe in the name of his king.

Staring up at the King as he dipped to a knee through his manacle, he waited for the King to call upon him.

"Ah, Yurak, my most noble _friend_ and _destroyer _of the Diamond Star Galaxy. Bring me word of the uprising on Planet Arus? How faired your observations of the wretched Lions?"

Yurak swallowed. "My observation is that these pilots think well on their feet and are coordinated as though they have trained together for a lifetime. They are a formidable and worthy enemy, sire."

Zarkon nodded thoughtfully. "Yet, here you are, wasting my time. What is it that pulls you to our planet from the battle field."

"Sire, may I approach the thrown?"

Zarkon's eyes narrowed. Very few times had any of is men, trusted or untrusted ever requested permission to approach him directly.

He pointed his scepter at the commander and nodded, motioning for a stool to be brought forward for the man. It was placed beside the thrown at the emperor's right side.

"What is it, mongrel," Zarkon demanded as he sipped his wine from the goblet that was placed into his hands and filled by a goldernhaired slave.

"Sire, we have intercepted communications from the Galaxy Alliance that were dispatched to Planet Arus."

He passed the tablet to the King who didn't even bother glancing at the device that was passed into his hand. Instead he downed his goblet and turned his golden eyes to the man beside him. "And this matters to me because?"

Yurak swallowed, and straitened. "Sire, this means that the youngest daughter of the Lionheart not only survived, but has taken to husband an Earthling. A relative of the Earthling is requesting permission to journey to Arus for the corronation. A senator of sorts. I do not -"

Zarkon shook in rage. "How! When my fool son couldn't kill her I had to do it myself. How did the golden welp manage to escape death! I watched as the life bled out of her eyes after her guard died by our hand."

"Alfor," Yurak said plainly, "it appears his daughter was surrounded by guards that could stand as body doubles. Further intelligence gathered indicated that only the Princess and single one of guards traveled safely to Arus. We were duped -"

Zarkon through the goblet at the slave girl who failed to catch it. The golden chalice clattered to the floor and she scurried to retrieve it.

"Clumbsy wretch!"

Yurak watched as Zarkon swung his scepter at the girl, while he managed to knock her off her feet, he realized she was still breathing. Luckily the king hadn't accidentally killed her.

"Impertinant fool! So the bitch of Arus still lives. How dare Alfor humiliate me -"

Yurak took a breath. "Sire, there is more. The end of the letter asks for more information regarding the open heart surgery that the princess of Arus herself performed on the Crowned Prince. There was a request for the original sketches of his Highness's heart and details regarding the repair he made."

Zarkon stood, his fists trembling in rage. The Empress dared to defy him by seeking refuge for their only child in the hands of their greatest enemy. "Chancellor Unkai!"

The man scurried forward from the wings and raced up the stairs to bow before the King. "Y-ye-y-yes, s-s-s-s-sire."

"You will extend a personal invitation to dine to both my wife, the Empress Tantai and my son. The will appear before me within the hour and I don't care what god forsaken rock they are hiding on, they will appear or I will blow whatever planet they are on out of existance!"

"Y-ye-yes your majesty.. ri-r-r-r-right away your majesty."

Yurak watched as the Chancellor scurried off and then sighed. This would not bode well for Tantai.

What a waste.


	24. Chapter Twenty Four: Let Go

Happy weekend!

What an incredible roller coaster this week has been for me, my husband and my coworkers, but luckily everything is beginning to settle and start working out. What a relief that is just in time for June to begin.

For me, this means I am becoming a day walker. Yes, me! After over five years of working the overnights, light nights and more I find myself wondering what it will be like to work through the day light hours. I still joke about the death ball in the sky and it will probably take more than a year on a morning shift to stop that reference for the sun.

The last few days of writing have been spent working on a chapter called 'I See Fire'. Unfortunately, that chapter honestly comes much later in my version if events. This meant that we had a bit of delay in posting.

Despite this I wanted a chapter posted for the weekend hours and didn't want to leave everyone completely hanging until Monday.

As always, thank you to everyone for the reviews and the encouragement that was left for me in personal messages. It is always a pleasure to chat with you. :)

The Guardian  
Chapter Twenty Four: Let Go

There is never a right or wrong time for a monarch to become completely incapacitated. Timing could not have been worse. Super sized monsters, invading fleet, a fusion device than can wipe out civilizations without doing much more than scar the surface in the airspace of a blue world floating about in the Dark Nebula, mighty robot defeating the enemy, castle crumbling to dust only to have a mighty fortress rise from the catacombs that hide an entire civilization.

No, there is never a good time, and Keith and Allura's absence while their world was in a state of flux such as this was definitely not a good time, especially for two overbearing control freaks like the former Alliance Commander, now Commander of the Voltron Force and Prince turned surgical genius.

Nothing complicated at all about their lives. Of course for these two control freaks, the moment they stepped out of their quarters to face their first day of consciousness, they both more than over did it.

This of course put them both into a room in the medical center across the hall from her office. She used her current status to check on the last of her patients remaining on the surgical floor only to be escorted back the exam room by Roxxy.

The red head was far more than annoyed by them than Allura would have expected.

"Lulu," she hissed between her teeth, while glaring down her nose at her patients now sitting in the single exam room on the surgical floor. "Look, you two were basically in comas for several days. I'm almost willing to bet that neither of you have yet to have a solid meal. You can't just jump back into life like it's normal."

Keith sighed, laying back on the exam table with his hands behind his head while Allura sat in a chair next to him, kicking her feet anxiously.

Waking up with him had been a strange experience. Sure they were married, but nearly naked in a bed together was definitely something that was more than awkward for both of them.

"What that means, your majesties, is that you're with going to follow my orders , precisely as written or you will be confined to quarters."

Allura blinked. "Roxxy, come on. The lives of everyone on this planet are being turned upside down again, they need me. They need us."

Keith nodded. He knew better than to argue with a doctor when they were in a snit and Roxxy was definitely in a snit.

"You know what, Lulu?" Roxxy asked.

"What," Allura responded.

"Your people can need you all they want, but you can't help them if you're dead. And that is what happened. You stopped breath and your heart nearly slowed to a stop. You cannot over do it right now. I get you have a need for control, but right now -" she paused and sat down on the stool. "Lulu, if you died it would be game over. If Keith died, it would be game over. At this point there is no guarantee that either of you can survive the loss of the other. Yes, your bond healed a bit while you were unconscious, but damn it Lu! It took a coma and four days of physical contact to do it. What happens if it happens again and we can't afford for either of you to have that kind of time completely incapacitated."

Allura looked down at her feet as she shrank back in her chair. She knew it had gotten bad, but she didn't know it was that bad.

"Light duty, two weeks. During which you are to get an eight hours of sleep and eat three square meals. That goes for both of you."

Keith was sitting up, a determined look in his eye and Roxxy could almost sense the but forming in his mind.

"No," she said before he could talk. "I don't care if Zarkon himself is raining an unholy hell on the planet. Light duty. Two weeks. No flying. No training." She paused and pointed at Allura, "and you, no surgery. No checking on your patients. For two weeks you get to be a big sister and spend time with your brother. You get to be a wife and spend time getting to know your husband. You might get to sit in on council and strategy meetings, but only if they don't interfere with your rest and proper nutrition."

"Roxxy, don't you think you're taking this a bit far," Keith asked.

"Want to make it four," she challenged.

"You can't do that," Allura protested angrily.

"Try me," Roxxy answered as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Two weeks."

Keith's eyes narrowed as he looked at the doctor, displeasure clearly written on both their faces.

"Your highness, for two weeks you get to be as normal as anyone around her can be. Enjoy it. I guarantee the war isn't going to be over in two weeks. Think of the bigger picture. The longer you two are in physical proximity of each other, the less likely you're to find yourselves in a situation where you are unable to be physically separated. I've seen the inside of the Lions, Lu. You and I both know it isn't safe to put both of you up there in the same ship at the same time. Those things don't have second jump seats and we can't risk both of you flying at the same time."

Allura sighed. "I know."

Roxxy and Keith both gasped, looking at the blonde.

"Wait, did her highness princess perfect pants just admit that someone else was right?"

"Yea, well don't get used to it," Allura snapped.

Keith laughed and Roxxy sighed. Her squared shoulders dropped. "So how do you do it?"

The couple in front of her looked at each other, a confused look on their faces. "Do what," they asked at the same time.

Roxxy sighed and gestured toward them. "This."

"What do you mean by this?" Keith asked, shifting uncomfortably.

"Have someone in your head all the time. How do you love a stranger?"

"Uhhh.." Keith started, "uhhh should I step out?"

Allura shook her head. "It's not like you won't know anyway."

"True, so, what do you want to know," he asked.

Roxxy threw her hands up in the air. "Seriously. How can you stand it?"

"Why wouldn't we," Allura asked. "Roxxy, this is really a conversation you should be having with him, not us.

Roxxy was the most self assured, independent woman that Alura knew. She'd heard the yelling in the halls outside of their quarters throughout most of the day. Subconsciously Allura scooted closer to Keith and simply sighed.

"Rox, I don't know how to describe it. At least you knew what was happening the moment it started. Me and Keith, we didn't have that. I honestly thought I was going crazy," whispered the princess.

"Yea, there were a few moments there after I arrived that I thought that you were too."

"Gee thanks," the blonde hissed in reply. "Roxxy, when it comes down to it, you really have to talk to him."

"You think I haven't tried?"

Allura rolled her eyes. "Oh please. You think I didn't hear you arguing after we woke up? Roxxy, it is meant to work and it takes both of you to be open and to try. You can't just expect him to fall at your feet. I mean, it's not like he went out looking for wild strawberries for you yet. Everyone knows how much you -"

Roxxy looked at her ands.

Allura's mouth formed an 'O' of surprise. "For real?"

Roxxy nodded. "Not my best moment."

They both sighed. "All I can tell you is that you have to trust in him. I know you and I know what it's like to think it can never happen for you. Do you think I thought I'd ever fall in love let alone have this?"

"Thank you," Roxxy said, ending any further discussion before it could begin. "I expect you bot at dinner this evening."

When she left Keith and Allura alone she wasn't sure what she was going to do. Part of her wanted to find a way to shut the whole bond thing off completely. It was disconcerting to have someone always in your head twenty four hours a day. Maybe there was a way?


	25. Chapter 25: Once Upon A Nightmare

I couldn't leave this weekend where it was, and this chapter was partially completed previously, so I thought I'd give finishing it up tonight a shot. It's short, but I think it serves this scene very well.

Chapter Twenty Five: Once Upon a Nightmare

The Empress Tantai and her son, the Crowned Princess entered the council chamber which also served as Daibazaal Zarkon's throne room. As expected, the gathered council and soldiers parted, half bowing in their presence, but for the first time since she could remember, Zarkon himself did not rise in the presence of his wife or his son.

The look from above was bothersome to the crowned prince, but ignored by the Empress. To show a reaction to the lack of respect shown by her husband could cause a war between the Drule and Galran Empires, and she herself wouldn't allow that if at all possible.

Of course the departure of Yurak's fleet as they arrived told her that something more was going on with the blue planet in the Diamond Star Galaxy's Azure Quadrant than Zarkon wanted anyone to know. It wouldn't be long before the word of battles on Arus would reach the ears of the farthest reaches of both empires that were now ruled by a single Emperor.

Reaching the base of the dais, the Empress dropped to her knees and sat back on her heels. "Beloved Emperor and husband," she said before bowing forward.

They all knew that her show in subservience was only done to appease the man, but not out of belief she was anything more than his equal.

Beside her, as a man and their son, Lotor simply bowed slightly at the waist offering a curt, "sire" as his greeting.

The Emperor did not rise, nor did he acknowledge his wife.

Tantai knew that this did not bode well for her or her son. Whispering softly between them, so only her son could hear, she told him to always remember who he was and that while Zarkon was his father, she would always be his mother.

Her son only let out a sharp huff of air that would have gone unnoticed by anyone that was not beside him.

"It seems that we have a traitor in our midst," he called down angrily. "Do you know who that traitor could be, empress?"

"No, my lord Emperor," she answered, her voice strong and clear.

"How is it that a senator from the Terran system could possibly know of my son's six chambered heart!"

Tantai paled. "My lord, we reported directly to you that he had survived battle but was in need of medical care. We temporarily took over an Alliance ship in order to make use of their surgeon."

"Surgeon," Zarkon hissed, rising to his feet. "Surgeon! That surgeon was the youngest welp of the Afor! You dared to allow an Arusian witch to touch my son!"

Tantai paled. The girl was a princess of Arus? Swallowing back the growing lump of fear that threatened to rise out of her throat she remained bowed. "My husband, the only unspoiled woman female surgeon within a dozen star systems fell into my lap. I would not allow your legacy to die."

"And as sure as my legacy lives, so does the bitch of Arus!"

Lotor flinched. The woman was a princess of the world his father wanted to conquer? That would bode well for him. Perhaps he could place himself as a savior in her eyes in order to coerce her to surrender.

"My husband, I knew not of her identity. Only that she was a surgeon," Tantai said, her voice sounding meek, but her legs were shaking beneath her. If she was standing, she would have fallen.

"How could you not know! She had been outed quite purposefully. You, my dearest wife, should have known what you had in your grasp. And not only did that bitch have her hands inside of my son, you let her go! Do you know how we prevent the repayment of a life debt, my wife?"

She rose up, once again sitting upon her heels. "No, my beloved king."

He strode purposefully down the gold lined carpet to stand before her. Up on the dais, Zarkon's own mother was cackling from behind the hood of her robes. It was no secret that the mother of the conqueror who usurped the last emperor in hand to hand combat to take the throne had no care for the empress. Hagar had always seen her as a means to an end that never fulfilled her means. While an heir was provided, a legitimate heir, Tantai and Zarkon had never been able to conceive a second viable fetus due to the differences in their genetic make up.

He stood before her and tipped up her chin.

Out of the corner of her eyes she saw her son step forward in an attempt to move between them.

"I will always love you, my son," she whispered just before Zarkon lashed out, a dagger slicing her throat.

Her mouth gaped as she tried to force air down into her lungs but it was impossible. Instead she choked on on her own blood and darkness carried her soul away before her body hit the floor.

"Know this, my son," Zarkon hissed in warning. "Even you are replaceable."


	26. Chapter 26: Chasing Coattails

Hi Everyone,

This chapter took a lot more doing than expected. I hope you enjoy it.

This episode… chapter, brought to you by the song Chasing Coattails by Broods.

The Guardian  
Chapter 26 - Chasing Coattails

Allura and Keith entered the dining room earlier than anyone expected, finding Coran, Hys, Michael, Hunk and Orla already tucked in for their meal.

Hunk looked up to see them shyly holding hands as the door swished to a close behind them. His brow furrowed in frustration. He didn't want to admit that she was thinking about finding a why to break their bond. The thought just made him sick to his stomach and while they barely knew each other, loving her came naturally.

He sighed and looked down at his meal. She was avoiding him. Extra shifts in the medical center kept her away and exhausted. Worse, by the time she was coming in, he was on his way out to early morning lion practice with the guys which was followed by their normal training regimen.

Allura and Keith sat across from him and try as he might, he was insanely jelous of the way they would inch toward each other, brushing hands and sharing their time even at the dinner table together.

_Why can't we have that? _ He asked Roxxy through the link they shared.

_Not now,_ came her usual response. While she was working, he knew she wasn't as busy as she could be and the fact she didn't want to take the time to respond hurt his feelings. _I really wish you would talk to me._

He felt the mental huff and her walls go up. _We do talk but right now, I don't want to._

Feeling more than defeated, he stared down at his plate as Lance and Sven came into the dining room, their heads bowed together as they were discussing the weapon systems of their respective lions.

His eyes narrowed as he watched them. People like them, they always got the girl. Keith was almost too good to be true, and so was the fair princess of Arus, and they found a way despite being separated by everything the universe had to throw at them.

And then there was him. He was the big guy, the strong man, the everyone leans on him guy. He was the wingman at the bar that always made his friends look good. Retreating into himself he wondered if he should consider changing himself to make her happy, but in the long run he knew it was a bad idea.

Pushing food around on his plate, he hadn't realized everyone had stopped talking mid conversation to watch him.

When he looked up, the look on his face darkened and he excused himself.

Nodding to Allura, Keith stood and followed him out as Allura began to put a plate together for him. While she wouldn't physically be there, she'd make sure to have a meal ready for Keith and stay close enough to not do further damage to their bond.

Surprisingly, even with Keith gone from the room, and who knew where in the castle, there was no burning need drawing them together. All that remained was the gentle tug of his consciousness on her own that reminded her they were connected.

Smiling, she set the plate she fixed for him aside and smiled at Coran and her Aunt.

Hys seemed to beam at her. Apparently this was the progress they needed and was a step closer to getting Keith safely into the Black Lion without nearly killing them. A win for Kurojishi and the Voltron Force.

Allura smiled as Roxxy came in to sit in the place Keith vacated. Michael to her left was talking her ear off about school.

"I'm learning my times tables, 'Lura! Can you help me practice?"

Allura nodded. "You got it! I think Nan may have my old flash cards some where for basic math. We could make a game of it."

"Really! I like games."

Allura giggled. "Yup! I do too. Now you finish your plate or no dessert."

He nodded and picked up his plate to go sit next to Hys and Coran, babbling about playing a game with his sister's flash cards.

Hys nodded to her and seemed to have calmed down a bit, especially since Allura was eating a normal meal.

Next to her, Roxxy let out a frustrated groan. "He's never going to stop pushing is he?"

Allura blinked in surprise as she, Sven and Lance turned to look at her.

"Roxxy?"

The red head scowled. "He keeps pushing me to talk to him. We talk, but no matter what I say or do, it's not enough. I don't want this. I never asked for this."

Hys let out a hiss of frustration and Allura fought the urge to run. The whole bond thing was a scary proposition, but it was a blessing in disguise.

"Roxxy, maybe we should go sit somewhere and talk," she asked.

The red head continued to fume. "I can sit here and talk about it, Lulu."

Allura sighed. "You really want to have this conversation here when none of us are the person you should be talking to?"

"Allura," she said through gritted teeth, "I just want it gone. What if something happened and I had to take your place and died like the others? Do you really think it would be fair to him?"

Allura's face turned red with something between anger and frustration. There wasn't a day that went by that she thought about them. Sometimes when she dreamed she could hear them telling her that they see fire. They weren't really dreams, they were horrible nightmares.

Allura flinched as a stray bit of his conversation with Hunk entered her mind and then covered her ears as the klaxons began to sound.

"Oh, for Gods sake," Roxxy huffed.

Hys, who sat quietly ringing her napkin in her lap in frustration was biting her lip to keep herself from jumping into the conversation.

"Lulu, it's not that I don't care about him, but we can't have this. People could die with this kind of distraction."

Allura caught Roxxy by the shoulders as she stood and pulled her back down beside her, nodding to the door. Lance and Sven slipped out, Hys left to take Michael to the shelter and Coran followed Lance and Sven, presumably to Castle Control.

"Don't you dare," she hissed through her clenched teeth. "We are finishing this. You're the one that started it, and we have to finish this."

Roxxy glared at her.

"You will hear me out."

The red head nodded. "Sure."

"The distractions will always be there but when it comes down to it, the fact you are both fighting a war with no guarantees is precisely the reason you need this."

"Lulu, I really don't have time for this -"

Allura resisted the urge to slap the older woman who looked so much like her that they could have been sisters. "Roxxy, life is short. None of us knows what tomorrow will bring. This is a gift. A real life miracle for you and for him. Of all the odds to overcome for you to find the other half of your soul. If Keith and I hadn't found each other, you would not have had any sort of hope at a chance for anything like you deserve. And you do deserve this -" Allura scowled at her as she opened her mouth. "No. Don't you dare! You are an amazing woman. There will be no more talk of sacrificing yourself. You deserve hope and love and every blessing that a man like Hunk can provide you. Keith worries about his team, mostly for Hunk because he's a good man with a strong mind and soft heart who found himself in the same impossible situation he was."

Roxxy tried to interrupt her again and Allura shook her head and cut her off. "Can you honestly tell me that you feel nothing for him?"

Roxxy bit her lower lip and looked away. "No, I can't."

With a sigh, she felt the urgent pull on their connection from Keith. "Good. Then you need to just let these doubts go."

Allura stood and motioned for Roxxy to follow her.

"Lulu, I've made so many mistakes. What if I'm not good enough for him?"

Allura sighed and kissed her sister in arm's forehead. "Roxx, I know that horrible things have happened to you. I know that is likely why you are always arguing with him, but you are more than worthy and more than deserving. Tell him, Roxx. Just tell him and he'll understand because he already loves you."

Roxxy pushed herself away from the table and watched Allura carefully. "Are you sure," she asked.

Allura nodded. "He found your strawberries."

She nodded and together the walked toward the lift that would take them up to the same level as Castle Control, steeling themselves for whatever it was that they would face.

_Lulu_, Keith called out I her as they reached the lift. _Hurry_.

Allura swallowed hard. _We're in the lift_, she answered. Seconds later the doors slid open with a hiss of hydraulics and she and Roxxy were nearly running to control.

Once inside she found her Aunt and Coran with their heads together. An evacuation of all nonessential personnel had been ordered as several if her fathers knights arrived. She watched as they were immediately dispatched to see to the needs of her people and bit back her own nervousness. There was so much more to being a queen that she didn't know, enough that it left her feeling unprepared and very lacking.

With wide eyes she looked up at the screen, a creature wearing silvery armor plates over its midnight blue skin towered over the lions that were attempting to put a dent in it. By comparison even Voltron would be dwarfed by the beast which was now ravaging the countryside.

Keith, she noted was at the con, barking out orders to his men.

_They can't keep this up,_ he told her. _That thing has more firepower and more raw destructive energy than the one I fought with them. _

He turned to his wife, when the yellow lion went down hard. They all could hear the sickening crunching and twisting of metal and watched as smoke began to fill the cabin around a thoroughly dazed Hunk. "Vents," the heard Hunk command and watched as the smoke was pumped out of the cockpit.

Roxxy reached out to grip Allura by the arm, her nails biting painfully into the princesses flesh.

"Hunk, I need a systems check," Keith ordered.

Hunk pushed himself back up on the small monitor that was their direct link to his lion. "Dynotherms and mega thrusters are offline."

_Even if I was out there,_ he started to think.

_No Voltron_, Allura finished for him.

Allura's eyes moved from Hunk on screen to Roxxy, back and forth. It was obvious by the looks on their faces they were having a silent argument.

"Hunk," Allura called, drawing his attention back to control as the battle raged on above him, "can you get the Dynotherms or mega thrusters back online?"

"Not from in here," he answered with a groan. They could tell by the way he was gritting his teeth that he was in pain. Allura didn't like it and she knew Roxxy liked it even less.

"Lance, Sven, Pidge, position that thing so it's between you and the castle," Allura ordered.

There were replies acknowledging her order. Slamming her hand down on a reed sphere at the controls next to her husbands right arm she issued a single order. "All hands battle stations. Charge all cannons and prepare to fire. Sven, Lance, Pidge, soon as that thing is distracted get the Yellow Lion out of there. Hunk you should have a breather under your seat. You've likely lost structural integrity and we need that lion in the space port as quick as we can to see if we can jerry rig those systems."

"You're going to what?" Roxxy demanded, her eyes wide with anger. "What if the breather doesn't work!"

Allura closed her eyes. "Not now, Roxx."

Keith nodded, he liked where she was taking this and in seconds the robeast had it's back to the fortress.

"All hands, light that bastard up," she yelled.

She took a deep breath and turned to face her husband.

_I love you_, she whispered into his mind. He stood and pulled her into his arms. He knew it was coming and despite orders otherwise there wasn't going to be much time to waste. She felt his lips brush against her own before pushing him away from the con and raising the colonnade. "Go."

She knelt down and watched him disappear from the port beneath her fighting back the urge to cry. There would be time to cry later.

The colonnade sank bank into the floor. "What are you waiting for," Allura snapped. "Get to port and check on your husband!"

Roxxy blinked in confusion. He really was her husband and whether they got along or not, they both knew it.

Allura heard Roxxy's booted heels hitting the floor as she ran off.

_Lulu? _Keith called.

She felt the gentle reassuring pull of his presence and the further away he got, the stronger she felt it. _Just don't leave the planet._

_You got it, _he chuckled back.

She chewed on her lip anxiously as the the black lion ship came to life on her screen. In the back of her mind she heard Kurojishi roar.

"Hunk, status," Allura snapped, trying to distract herself.

"Good to go, Princess," she heard as the red, green and blue lions soared out of the lake. There would be time for relief later.


	27. Chapter 27: Doomsday, Kijishi, and

Hi everyone!

I thought I'd get this out for you tonight instead of waiting for tomorrow. That said, while I hate leaving you all with cliff hangers, it just seems to flow naturally in this story.

And, because it's amusing to talk about, no, Allura and Keith have not yet consummated their marriage. Neither have Hunk and Roxxy for that matter. Sorry if this is a disappointment for you.

The Guardian

Chapter 27: Doomsday, Kijishi, and a Broken Arm

The tunnels were blurring by. Roxxy's panicked voice still rang in her ears. Not only was Hunk's arm badly broken but he was having trouble breathing. The stubborn knight was refusing medical treatment while directing the crew that swarmed the hanger in quick repairs of the lion.

When she arrived, some fifteen minutes later, there was a whoop of excitement. "Dynotherms are online."

"Megathrusters should remain stable long enough for the formation sequence," Hunk wheezed.

Allura watched as Roxy made another attempt to splint his arm while he attempted to put his helmet back on.

"Hunk!" Allura called, causing them both to freeze.

She walked toward them and shook her head. "You," she ordered, pointing at the knight, "sit down now."

Hunk moved to a chair that had been rolled out for him and Allura waved off Roxxy as she approached the pair.

Taking a moment to visual assess the him she palpated his arm despite his cries of protest and shook her head before checking him over head to toe.

The ribs didn't feel broken but they were likely bruised, but they wouldn't know for certain until they were x-rayed.

"We'll need x-rays with contrast for his arm. No food or water. Best case scenario it'll just need to be set, I won't know until we get x-rays back."

Hunk shook his head. "No time for that, they need me up there."

"Hold your arm out."

Hunk gave her a look and when he tried to lift his for arm as she instructed, his eyes filled with tears. There was no way he would be able to fly.

"Lulu, what are we going to do," Roxxy asked.

Allura sighed and called control using her own personal com.

"Control," Coran answered, sounding as anxious as she felt.

"Coran, kill the camera feed to Kijishi."

"Princess," he asked.

"Hunk can't fly and they can't know it's me up there. Keith wouldn't be able to keep focus."

At least Coran didn't argue.

"Done," Coran told her.

Passing her com to Roxxy she accepted a pink accented flight suit and pulled the key off Hunk's flight suit.

_We lost communications with Yellow, what happened?_

Allura blinked at Keith's question. _We had to re-route power from coms to bring the thrusters back online._

_Is Hunk okay?_

_Yup, he'll be fine. It's nothing we can't repair for him,_ she answered as she clambered through the hatch and stripped down to her skivvies before pulling on the flight suite, securring the helmet and zipping up the boots.

She watched as the bay was cleared of personnel. "You will not argue with me, Kijishi. We will do this together."

The lion roared as she set the key and turned his nose toward the shield, the lion stepped into wet dock, a shield sliding into place behind her as she secure the breather as a safety measure and pulled the secondary and tertiary safety restraints into place and secured them.\

The chamber filled with water and the outer blast doors parted. Leaning back onto it's haunches, the lion pushed itself forward, out of the outer most reaches of the hanger and then powering towards the surface of the blue lake.

_Lulu! Where is yellow lion?_ _Coran isn't sure because the com quit._

Allura smiled. _Don't worry Keith, Kijishi is coming._

It was then she heard Coran pipe in over the com. "Yellow Lion can hear you Keith, but can not respond at this time."

"Understood," he answered as the Yellow Lion moved into position.

To his relief, the burning in the back of his head resolved to a light tingling sensation and Allura let out a sigh of relief as the persistent pressure in her head finally began to relax.

"Sven, Hunk, go low. Pidge, Lance, go high, I'm aiming for the center, hopefully we can knock it down long enough to move into formation for free fall."

Allura blinked and the lion was already responding to the orders of the pack leader. With a roar, the lion unloaded it's cannon and ion darts as it dove forward. As it neared, the ion knife formed in its mouth and Allura steered the lion down the creatures calf in order to slice through the thick tendons at the back of it's ankle. She didn't call her attacks like the others did, instead she willed them into existence.

There were a few gasps of surprise and Pidge even cheered 'Hunk' on as the lion's knife disappeared and it sank it's fangs into the robeast.

As the other lions slammed into the monster, it dropped to the ground with a resounding, ground shaking thud thud. Looking to the sky, the lion bounded up into the air waiting for the others regroup when Coran's voice filled the cockpit.

"Ops reports the Carpathia is experiencing an energy surge."

Allura went pale. Moving to secure com she replied, "are they deploying -"

"Yes," Coran answered.

Breaking com silence, Allura's voice filled the cockpits. "The robeast is a distraction. Yurak is charging the Carpathia and has his sights on the castle. We have to take out that ship before he fires or it'll be like the castle was never there."

"Allura?" Keith gasped as the Yellow Lion turned it's nose up toward the Carpathia.

"Keith, we have to stop him from firing. Gradem Fortress can fend off the robeast, but we have to dispatch the Carpathia before Yurak can fire -"

Keith was growling in the back of her mind in frustration.

_We have to hurry, after this, I have to set Hunk's arm. We may need to do a more permanent repair. _

She felt Keith refocus as the audio and video was restored to yellow lion's cockpit.

"Ready to form Voltron," Keith ordered.

Allura moved over the controls as he spoke and the lions climbed into the sky. The burn to move the wounded lion into free fall and complete the formation resulted in a drastic loss in power. "Yellow Lion now reporting 70% power."

Keith turned Voltron toward the Carpathia and opened communications on all channels, all frequencies.

A strange awareness passed through them as ten voices were heard in unison, lions and pilots together.

_"Voltron to Carpathia. You will powerdown the doomsday device and leave our air space or face certain destruction."_

Yurak's face appeared on com, laughing as the cannon was turned from the castle toward Voltron.

Keith's face twisted, his voice calling on the sword in a language he didn't recognized while rage fueled him. "Jūōken!"

As Voltron streaked across the sky, his fists clanged together, forming the blazing sword.

"Electroforce cross! Eye beams! Lion torches!"

They moved and breathed as one as Voltron threw everything they knew they had at the Carpathia who's shields were now barely holding up under fire..

Behind them, the mammoth robeast was barrelling toward them and despites Yurak's orders for it to fall back, the creature followed them up into the cross-hairs of the ship.

"Estimating seventeen seconds until firing capacity," Coran chimed.

Allura felt the hair on her arms raise up against the uniform. "Not today Yurak," she roared as Voltron 's sword sunk into the cannon.

She felt a surge of joy and as the energy gathering to fire the cannon backflowed into the ship.

They cleared the Carpathia as the robeast came into range, turning in air to watch the ship explode, taking the robeast with it.

Her heart was racing when she realized that they had been able to stop Yurak from using vapor technology against her people.

There was a chime and Allura looked at the power gage. "Twelve percent," she squeaked as the interlock failed in favor of protecting life support functions.

Using gravity, she coasted down to the same place that black lion had dropped after Keith's first battle.

Practically skipping, she dounded from the lion, leaving it up to the guys to return Yellow for repairs.

_Lulu! Where do you think you're going?_

She sighed. _ While I would love to have this argument with you, I need to get to pre-op and check Hunk's x-rays. Meet me down there, I'm afraid we may have some bad decisions to make._

Keith sighed. _This doesn't mean we're not going to talk about this._

_Nope_, she answered. _ I have every intention of discussing this with you, but we need to take care of Hunk first._

* * *

An hour later, Allura now wearing blue scrubs entered the room where Hunk and Roxxy waited with Keith.

Hunk hadn't allowed himself pain medication yet. She knew why. He wanted to be able to make an informed decision with a clear head.

She'd spent twenty minutes reviewing the x-rays and fought the urge to cry. How he held up under the kind of pain he had to be in was a minor miracle.

While he'd cracked a rib and bruised the majority of the ribs on his left side, the left arm that came down over the console was in bad shape. The radius was broken in three places, but the ulna was almost nonexistent.

They wouldn't just be setting the bones if he wanted use of his arm again.

When she looked from Keith, to Hunk who's jaw was clenched so hard she thought his eyes would pop out of his head, to Roxxy who was waiting quite anxiously, she wasn't sure what she was going to say, but she would have to come up with something.

She took the x-rays and put them up on the back lit board and Roxy gasped.

"Is that my arm?" He asked.

Allura nodded and slid up to sit next to him on a stool with her data pad held out before her. "We have a number of options that can help us to repair your arm but if we let it heal on it's own you will likely loose it completely. I don't think that we can just set the bones in this case, there are too many pieces."

Keith looked from Hunk to Roxxy and sighed.

"First thing I have to tell you before we even discuss our options is that I'm not a neurologist or an orthopedist. I am a trauma surgeon. This means my normal job is to patch you up with a quick fix that would allow you to be stabilized for a specialist to come in. While we have doctors and surgeons, because of the war we don't have many specialists. Right now, unless we take you off planet and find a way to get you to Ebb before the bones begin to heal I'm the best we have."

"What happens if it starts to heal," Hunk ground out between clenched teeth.

"We would have to re-break everything," she said gently. "In all honesty, longer we wait the less likely it is that you would be able to make a full recovery."

The talked for about an hour about different ways to repair his arm. All three options she had would require multiple surgeries and after calculating recovery and physical therapy there was no telling if or when he would be able to fly again.

"Princess," he asked, "may I speak with you alone for a few minutes?"

She nodded and Roxxy gave her a strange look as she and Keith stepped out.

"Will I ever be able to fly again?"

Allura shook her head. She couldn't set the expectation for him that he would be able to do something so strenuous on his body as fly in a lion again. "While I'm certain that in time you may be able to fly, perhaps even be a relief pilot, I also know that the strain you would prevent you from remaining a full time combat pilot."

Hunk started to cry. He'd been in excruciating pain and was so determined not to let anyone see him cry again. Allura took his good hand in her and offered him as much support as she could. She already knew his head had to be spinning with a billion what ifs.

"Don't dwell on the what could be. Dwell on the what is. You were thrown from the command seat during a horrible crash and somehow, by some miracle, it didn't kill you."

He nodded. "Will I ever be able to hold my wife in my arms?"

Taken back by the question Allura fought the urge to cry with him. "You will."

He sighed. "I think I want the bones replaced if you can do it."

"It will take an hour to make sure we have a kit that will fit you. If we don't we to to option two."

He nodded.

"Can I talk to my wife now?"

She nodded. "After you talk to her we're going to get you something for the pain and get you prepped for surgery."

He nodded.

When she left and watched Roxxy step into the room behind her, she walked into Keith's arms and cried. _I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I can save his arm. What if I can't do it?_

_You can do it, _he answered. _ I know you can._

_I have to, _she whimpered_, __because something tells me he wasn't supposed to survive and I don't know what I'll do if he does on my table._


	28. Chapter 28: Things That Go Boom

Hey Everyone,

I originally planned on this chapter being posted tomorrow, but I think we're more than ready to go.

That said, if any of you are Sailor Moon fans, Toei finally gave us our teaser trailer for Crystal! :)

Thank you for the amazing reviews for the last chapter, we're far from any where near the end of the beginning.

The Guardian

Chapter Twenty Eight: Things That Go Boom

Exhaustion was not her friend, but it was pressing down on her from all sides. Surgery had taken longer than anticipated and left her swaying on her feet. Hunk had been more than lucky.. None of the bone fragments had nicked major blood vessels and using a plate and a titanium rod she and her team were able to put him back together again.

But there was still the feeling that something horrible was still going to happen. She looked at Hunks face as they wheeled him out of the OR and into recovery and shook her head. It wasn't over.. It may never be over as long as she lived or even as long as her children or their children lived.

In about an hour he would start waking up. In an hour the sun would be up.

She had to completely block Keith during the proceedure in order to maintain her concentration and the roaring headache that followed was threatening to explode into a migraine as she slowly let the wall fall.

There was an immediate relief to the pain, but a very insistent pull toward him. To her relief he felt to her like he was dozing.

She checked Hunk's vitals one last time before heading to the waiting area.

What she saw inside was a surprise. Hys was sitting on a couch with Roxxy's head in her lap reading an old book under a dim light. Keith was sitting with his head tucked down, arms crossed over his chest, and like the others, still in his flight suit. Seeing him in it made her mouth go dry. Something in the back of her head told her she could watch him in uniform for hours. She almost didn't have the heart to wake them.

With a sigh she crossed the room, mentally prodding Keith who jerked awake and stretched his arms over his head before he rubbed his eyes. Looking to the clock he made a face that clearly spoke of surprise.

Hys smiled when she realized Allura was there and gently shook Roxxy awake.

To Allura's surprise, the reached looked almost as bad as Hunk did. Her eyes were swollen, the whites angry red, and looked almost like she'd been in a fight.

Around her, everyone stirred, but Allura ignored all of them accept for her friend who had been with her for so many years.

"Roxxy," she said gently. The redhead nodded. "It was a lot worse than we thought so it took much longer than expected. He does respond to stimuli so now we just have to wait. He'll be in recovery for a few hours before we take him back to his room."

"Can I see him?"

Allura nodded and watched her fellow doctor nearly run off.

Keith patted the space next to him and she seem to wilt before them before sliding into place next to him.

He still had a look that told her he was upset. Luckily for her it felt like most of his anger had burned off and given way to the same weariness that sank into her bones. "I don't know about you guys, but I need something to eat and some sleep," she muttered.

Hys nodded. "Why doesn't everyone go up to the residence and I'll send breakfast trays?"

Allura nodded, rising to her aching feet and watched as everyone but Pidge moved. "I'm gonna stay until I can see the big guy."

She smiled. "He'll be moved in an hour or two. How about you go grab a nap? There's a second bed in his room?"

He nodded and left the waiting room the same time Hys did, leaving Allura, Keith, Sven and Lance behind.

Lance cleared his throat as Sven shifted uncomfortably.

Keith sighed and there was a firm command in the back if her head, _sit_.

So she did, and pulled off her scrub cap.

She watched Lance and Sven curiously as Keith stood and began to pace, his irritation beginning to boil over again.

"What were you thinking?" He finally ground out.

Allura blinked In surprise. "I was thinking," she said, "that without Yellow Lion you were going to get killed. You saw the scans, there was no way. Hunk could go back up."

"Are you a combat pilot," Keith demands.

"I have flight training. It was required. Until yesterday I was a monarch and a doctor. Looks like I have to add combat pilot to my growing resume."

"What made you think you could just go up there and not tell us! Why didn't you tell me?"

Her eyes narrowed. This was definitely something that they shouldn't be talking about in front of their team. She sighed, "do you think you could have given the order for a five part attack on that monster if you knew it was me?"

"Doc's got a point," Lance said.

Sven cleared his throat. Obviously to Sven and Keith it wasn't a good time for Lance to but in.

"We all knew something would have to change so that you could fly without the bond going crazy. Hunk needs time and we need time -"

"And you thought jumping into a damaged lion was a good idea," he finally yelled.

Allura flinched. "Kijishi would never have let anything happen to me."

"Kijishi would never let anything bad happen to you? And what are we? Expendible? Where was Kijishi when Hunk got hurt," Lance snapped.

"You do realize if Kijishi hadn't reacted the way he did when he crashed that Hunk would probably be dead right now? We can talk about the effects of trauma on the human body later, but who are you to question the lions that protect us when we're all alive?"

Lance had the sense of mind to back down.

Allura was on her feet. "Do you honestly think I wanted Hunk to get hurt? That I wanted to fly again after what happened when Hys and I arrived here?" She turned to Keith, her eyes narrowing, "you remember don't you? You remember what you did from a universe away when we nearly died? I'm supposed to be a surgeon! I was never meant to be a queen or even a princess let alone a pilot, but you know what, we all do things we don't necessarily want to be cause we have to. The choice we have right now is you go up there with Yellow Lion and have a chance at forming Voltron, your you can go on your suicide missions and get yourselves killed because we know how great that would be for my people."

Exhausted, riled up and so angry she could spit, Allura stalked toward the door. Keith moved to follow. "Lulu -"

She turned around and jabbed him in the chest with a well manicured nail. "Don't you dare. While we're up there, you're in control. I get that. You're the commander. It's your job to make sure your team comes home alive. Did I have anything to do with the hyper consciousness crazy bullshit we experienced, no. But when we're down here, this is my planet. My aunt may be the Dowager Queen, but in the end, the buck stops here and if you don't like it there's a spaceport with a fabulous little ship that can be your ticket home."

Both were simmering with their own frustration and anger, it was Keith who opened his mouth to say something. She took a deep breath and steeled herself. She hated that she had to rely on him. Yes, loving him was an instinct. Needing him was an instinct, but when it came down to it, she had to do and be what was needed most by her people. That meant she would not only be a queen, but a surgeon and now a pilot if she had to.

Looking him square in the eyes, her jaw set, she jabbed him again. "And that goes for you too, your majesty."

She stormed off, yelling over her shoulder that he got the couch in the lounge and he was staring at the space she had just occuppied in confusion.

"What just happened," he asked his brother and second in command.

Sven started laughing. "Girl has claws."

He sighed and reached out to Allura and found between them a silent wall that pulsed painfully in his head when he pushed against it.

"Sven, you're not helping," he said.

"Look, she put us all in a tough spot today. My gut reaction was to be pretty pissed too," Lance said. "But in the end, she was right about having to make a choice. It isn't easy to accept that all of a sudden everything changed again before we even had a chance to get used to the way things are now."

Keith ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"Keith," Sven started, his accent thicker in his exhaustion, "I know you wanted to make sure she knew who was in charge when we're flying, but I think she understands that."

He nodded. "Now what? We don't know if Hunk is ever going to be able to fly again and I don't know if I can keep myself safe and her safe at the same time."

"Did you see the way she got into it with that robeast?" Lance asked. "I bet she knows more about these lions than anyone else on this planet."

Pidge peeked around the door frame, his eyes wide. "You talking about Princess?"

"Yes," Keith hissed, surprised that Pidge had joined them.

The pint sized genius took a spot near the door leaning against the wall. "They brought Hunk in and Roxxy is helping him get settled. Gotta tell you, it looks scary." He paused for a moment to yawn before adding, "man, chief! She was scary. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that girl in a lion."

"She was pretty amazing," Keith mumbled.

Lance brightened a little. "Just like her husband. One hundred percent over achiever and far to perfect for my taste."

"Maybe, just maybe we should be thankful that she was willing to try. Who knows what would of happened if she didn't fly. I think that right now that is the important part. Sure she didn't think of the consequences, but she did make the best decision she could under the circumstances."

Keith nodded in agreement. "I don't know how good I'm going to be at this king thing."

"Well, 'big brother', you're an anally retentive control freak. I think you'll be great at it. You just have to be careful about butting heads with Lulu. You're both type A classic control freaks."

Sven tried not to laugh, but they all knew Lance was right. "So, you going to go after her?"

Keith shrugged. "I guess it's time for a walk of shame."

And walk he did...


	29. Chapter 29: I See Fire

Hi everyone,

You may recall that I mentioned a chapter called 'I See Fire' inspired by an amazing song with the same name from the Hobbit movies.

Well, today is the day.

The Guardian

Chapter Twenty Nine: I See Fire

The lift ride to the residence was too fast and too slow at the same time. Worse was the fact the door to their suite was locked. Trying the key pad he groaned when he was denied access.

"Lulu?" He called through the door.

He watched as Hys approached, tray in hand, and sighed. "What did you do," she asked calmly.

"I questioned her judgement when it came to taking yellow out yesterday."

Hys scoffed and tried not to laugh. "Our split second decisions can change lives other than our own. You had to know she was terrified. That girl, for all her bravado, is really just a scared child in a woman's body."

Keith sighed as Hys was also denied entry to their suite. "She may just need some time," she told him. "That or she was simply so exhausted that she passed out."

Keith prodded at his connection to her and was surprised to find the wall gone and her mind lost in a see of nothingness.

He shrugged. "You're right, she's asleep."

"I know it isn't the best night to have, but perhaps you could use the guest room down the hall. That way you're close enough that if she needs you or you need her, neither of you will have far to go?"

He nodded, remembering he he was still on her feet and followed Hys to a suite two doors down the hall. "Keith, if I may," Hys said gently, waiting for him to nod before continuing, "you are both young and all of this is still new to you. The best piece of advice I have ever received was to never go to bed angry. In the future, talk it out before it gets to this point."

He nodded in agreement before stepping into the suite. He pulled off his boots and unzipped the clinging flight suit to his waist and pulled his arms from the sleeves. It wasn't the ideal sleeping arrangements, but he'd make it work.

* * *

She broke into a sweat and it pooled around her body, saturating the cool sheets which were now oppressive, sticking to her skin and preventing her from moving.

Despite the stillness that seeped into her body caused by complete exhaustion, the peace that came with it was fleeting.

_You must watch and prepare or all will be lost,_ the voice insisted, pulling her deeper and deeper into the depths of nothingness.

"I see fire," a pale ginger said sadly as she turned toward her. The girl was familiar to her. Maybe she'd seen her before? "I see fire auntie, will you remember me?"

She blinked away her confused tears and struggled as smoke and flame rose up around her.

"Lulu, I see fire," Hunk called in confusion, clutching his arm to his chest. Behind him, Roxxy's face was frozen in one of fear.

"My darling," her mother whispered, reaching toward her as the smoke rose her. "I see fire."

And then her brothers, her sister, her father. "I see fire."

They were speaking together and spinning around her until they faded into a blur, their words filling her ears. "I see fire!"

She screamed. The sound shrill and ripping from her throat as she tried to claw her way in the oppressive blackness toward them.

And then without warning the smell of thick acrid smoke filled her lungs, choking her, burning her eyes.

She flailed, barely able to move, coughing violently as her body pushed to expel the soot from her lungs.

Her eyes, open in the darkness filled with tears as she reached out. _Ketih! Keith! Where are you!_

She was wheezing and no matter how hard she tried to gulp for air, none would fill her lungs.

"Nan! Michael! Coran! Keith! Someone, anyone!"

No answer accept for those who had spun away from her. "I see fire!"

Her body burned. She could feel the heat seeping into her as she convulsed again and again. Where was it coming from?

"Someone," she wheezed, her throat raw. "Someone help me!"

As she stumbled forward, in the disorienting dizziness, she saw it and screamed shrilly in warning. "I see fire. I see fire from inside the mountains!"

She kicked, trying to free her legs. Something was wrapped around them, holding her down.

"Fire! I see fire," she cried over and over again, the screams of her people echoed in her ears as she kicked and flailed against the sheets.

Weak with dizziness her struggles became weaker and weaker.

It echoed through the halls and rattled around in his head. A scream. He'd never heard a sound like that before and he could hear it more with his mind than his ears.

Bolting up he listened as the scream filled the air again. On his feet,

_Lulu! You have to wake up!_

She didn't respond. He was the first to their door, trying to override the lock, he was unsuccessful.

"I see fire! I see fire," she screamed from behind the door.

He slammed a fist into the doors. "Damn it Lulu! Wake up!"

Hys was next, then Lance who sported only a pair of boxers and a pair of socks. "What's going on?"

"She's having a nightmare," Keith groaned.

"Shouldn't you be in there," Lance yawned as a trio of guards approached them.

"Thanks captain obvious, do you need a side kick, look there it is boy?" He yelled.

Lance squeaked as Keith actually took a swing at him. He side stepped his brother and caught his faist. "Down, look there it is boy," he said without missing a beat.

"You!" Lance pointed at a guard. "Override the lock."

Keith watched, listening while Allura screamed on the other side of the door, as the guard punched in an override. "Upgrade all security panels. I'm to be able to open any locked door in the building. Do you understand," he growled.

The guard nodded. "Sir, I'm not really able to do that."

The lock clicked and the doors opened. "Than find someone who can! It's an order!"

Hys followed him into the suite, the doors closing behind them. He could see her tangled in the sheets, sweat dripping from her brow.

Her shoulders were shaking and she was still screaming.

_Lulu! Wake up! Please wake up!_

Hys watched as he approached her, reached accross the bed and pulled her into his arms.

She stopped screaming, choking on nothing, her face turning read as she fought to suck air into her lungs.

Her head lolled back against Keiths chest and he breathed into her mouth, forcing air into her.

_I see fire!_ She sobbed. _Why is everything burning! Please! Help us!_

_Lulu, it's a dream! You have to wake up, _he ordered.

_Zarkon is coming! Yurak is underground! He's going to attack!_

_Lulu!_

Hys looked at him, worry written across her face. "Why won't she wake up?"

"Turn the water on cold," he ordered, pointing to the bathroom before scooping her up into his arms.

And then she was cold. Water raining down over her from above, her eyes wide open and slowly coming into focus.

Keith was looking down at her, relief written accross his face. "Lulu, are you okay?"

She looked up her eyes moving from him to Hys who now stood in the doorway. She watched as her former governess cleared her throat and backed from the room. "We'll have the bed remade shortly and I'll send up lunch."

Keith nodded and she watched as Hys left them alone.

"It was a dream," she asked, still tasting the smoke in her lungs.

He nodded.

He reached up and turned the tap off and sighed. The water had done very little for her scarcely there attire.

Reaching for a towel he let out a sigh and changed his mind. "Stay put."

She nodded and watched as he drew a bath into the deep garden tub. Once he was satisfied with the water he turned his back and cleared his throat. "Oh.. oh!"

Without ceremony she peeled off her wet garments and left them in a wet heap on the floor of the glass shower enclosure before slipping into the water.

What she hadn't realized was that his eyes followed her movements through her reflection in the mirror and she almost heard him swallow past the lump she felt form in her throat before he divested himself himself of his own boxers before stepping into the water and settling down behind her.

She let out a squeak of surprise as he pulled her back against his chest and he bit down on his lip when she wiggled around to get comfortable before leaning back against him.

"Are you sure..?" She asked, thinking about the hours they had spent talking behind their locked door, just enjoying each others presence and the broth that had been left for them.

"I promised, never more than either of us are ready for."

She turned to place a kiss on his lips before sinking back down, her head resting on his biceps as she drew swirls on the smattering of hair that covered his forearm. "I'm sorry I got so mad," she mumbled after the adrenaline left over from her nightmare began to fade.

"Lulu, you're already forgiven. I'm stubborn, just like you. I know I shouldn't have called you out in front of the team, but I can't even describe how terrified I was when I realized you were in the lion and not Hunk."

"I knew you'd panic," she grumbled.

"Yes, but just because you knew I would panic, didn't mean you shouldn't have told all of us the second you were in the lion."

She nodded. "Yup. Out there, you're the commander."

He sighed and she could feel his scowl in the back of her mind. "Yes, I am," he answered. "But more importantly, you are my wife. Above and beyond everything else on your resume, that's the most important thing."

He felt her sigh.

"No, Lulu. It's true. It doesn't matter that you're a princess or if you're crowned queen or a surgeon or if your a gardener. You are the most important thing to me in the universe."

She relaxed a little against. "Are you sure?"

"Lulu, if I met you and I wasn't a soldier and you were a normal person and this happened, I would still fight for you and with you to do whatever I could to keep you safe."

"Even if I was Zarkon's witch?"

Keith laughed, the sound vibrating in his chest, against the back of her head. "Good thing you aren't. I hear his witch is scary."

She laughed softly as she curled into him. On the other side of the door they could hear Hys ordering the girls around. There was a light tap at the door and she told them the room was ready for them.

"We should probably think about making an appearance soon," he said, settling deeper into the water and simply enjoying the fact she was pressed up against him.

She sighed. "Am I allowed to say no?"

"Lulu, your patients, especially Hunk? Your aunt? Michael? And who knows what kind of trouble Lance has gotten into," he added for good measure. "

She worried her lip. There was something about what he said that bothered her. Something about a dream that was barely a memory. There was something she had to decide but for the life of her she couldn't remember. It was important, and it bothered her that she couldn't put her finger on it.

There was a chime at the outer chamber door which drew Keith from their bath. Allura groaned. "Do we need do not disturb signs like in the barracks," she muttered.

Keith scoffed as he wrapped himself in the larger of the robes on the back of the door. He hadn't even made it to the bedroom when the entire fortress shivered violently and the klaxons sounded.

"You have got to be kidding," he hissed through clenched teeth.

"It's like they have nothing better to do," she muttered under her breath as she rose out of the water and snatched up a towel.

Minutes later they were pressed into the lift with several members of the staff only to push their way out of the lift when they hit the second level.

She was running her hands through her tangled wet hair when they met the others minus Hunk and Roxxy in the control room.

Her aunt stood before the monitor with her arms crossed over her chest, tapping her foot impatiently. "Eventually," she mumbled under her breath, "we'll have the opportunity to plan a coronation and everything will be back to as normal as possible."

Allura blinked. She'd never seen her aunt in a snit before.

Another shot shook the castle, but did it no damage.

"Control, this is ops. We're receiving a transmition from the ship, sir."

Orla rolled her eyes and motioned Allura and Keith to come forward and sighed as she took in their disheveled appearances.

"On screen, but do not allow them to see us," Orla ordered.

Coran nodded. On the screen was a face Allura had seen in person in the past. She gasped. "Never thought I'd see him again after fixing his heart."

Keith reached around her shoulders to pull her into his side.

"Crowned Prince Lotor," her aunt called. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit. Surely you could have requested an audience without the theatrics brought on by explosives."

The man laughed. "And whom is it I am speaking."

"I am the Dowager Queen of Arus, head of the Royal family. Again, to what do we the owe the pleasure of your visit."

"Your highness, Queen Orla," he began with a nod. "I am here to seek the hand of your niece, the Princess Allura and to offer a treaty of peace between our worlds."

"I understand that you would like to pursue my niece, possibly as part of the life debt owed to her and our people by both you and her excellency, the Empress following the surgery which saved your life. However, my neice, the Princess, is already happily married."

His eyes narrowed. "Has she been spoiled," his angry hiss escaped his teeth.

"My niece, is a happily married woman, your highness."

Rage filled the crowned prince's face. "It would behoove you for your niece to become unmarried, your majesty. For the sake of you and your people, you best understand that what Yurak has done here and will continue to do here will be nothing compared to what I am capable of."

"Your highness," Allura spoke gently. "I understand that hearts are a very fragile thing. While I was able to repair the physical damage, I can not be something your heart desires."

"You will be mine!" Lotor hissed. "And as a show of faith, I warn you. After Yurak's defeat he will return at sun down. Be prepared. I would hate to see you harmed, my dear."

The viewer cut to static and Allura seemed to crumple into Keith. "Sun down. Will Yellow be ready?"

"Princess, Yellow should be operational, but his systems are only at around eighty percent," Pidge said, his arms crossing over his chest.

"Eighty isn't good enough, shorty. We have to have yellow at at least ninety five," Keith demanded.

"Chief, I don't know if I can do that without Hunk and he's not exactly clear headed right now."

"Damn," he muttered. "Lance, you and Sven go with Pidge, see what we can do to get yellow safe enough for my wife. Coran, we may need some major fire power. We've only got a few hours, but we'll be ready."


	30. Chapter Thirty: Borrowing From History

Hi everyone!

I am so excited for this chapter because it reveals some of my hidden plot bunnies and ties up a few loose ends. That said, I'm totally with Limetwist on this, I'm surprised they haven't gotten it on yet myself. While we're looking at a lot of words I wanted to run a quick timeline by all of you that may help explain things.

The day Keith and his on arrived and they had their big smooch on the field, well that night they were all crammed in the Brownstone with Keith and Lulu in the living room. The very next day the plot bunnies got carried away in my brain and I almost killed them. The day the woke from their great restorative sleep they didn't have much awake and alone time. While I know they talked for quite sometime, Keith is more than just a man for opportunity.

And that brings us to the most recent chapters that include Voltron, Allura fighting, operating on Hunk and for a lack of better terms, having an epic mood swing.

The Keith in my story wants their first time together to be more than a hurried heat if the moment thing and there is no way that he will let Lotor rob her and him of it. That doesn't mean things won't get scary for our favorite couple. I have some things in the works that have actually changed that I am looking forward to bringing you in writing.

This chapter offers air of plot points for you. For my friends out there that love Bismark, well I think that you will especially enjoy this chapter.

The Guardian

Chapter Thirty: Borrowing From History

Daibazaal Zarkon glared down his nose at Yurak who now knelt before his throne. The urge to slit the man's throat left a physical itch in the back of his throat. In a single day the man had lost the only renegade unit that had been successfully infused with hagarium which resulted in a spectacular beast that should have been able to easily dispatch Voltron and the Gradem Fortress post haste.

Worse, in addition to loosing their prized robeast monster, he lost the Carpathia, the flagship in their fleet that was outfitted with vapor technology.

The ship's extra fire power not only wiped out entire civilizations throughout the empire, but transported the very cities and their citizens to a place their unlikely allies called the vaporz one.

Their allies were able to provide them a steady stream of slaves from their side that had been captured from one of dozens of worlds while providing them with the necessary infrastructure to survive in their strange parallel dimension.

Loosing access to the device would set them behind. It wasn't likely that they would be able to aquire another device like that one for some time as the war on the new frontier was now widespreed. Convincing Nemesis to part with anymore of their technology without great cost would be a waste and he didn't have a way to get his soldiers into the Vapor Zone in order to take what he wanted from them.

Worse between him and a war with the Outriders of the New Frontier was the Alliance and it's home base on Earth in addition to Hazaar and his forces that represented the Empire. Hazaars fledgling treaty with Nemesis himself that prevents the Outriders from invading their interests would not survive his interference.

Taking a goblet of blood wine, he guzzled down the contents, soothing the itch in the back of his throat before hurling the golden chalice at Yurak's head.

Luckily for Yurak, he missed.

"Sire -"

"Silence you bungling idiot! Do you believe Nemesis would even dream of granting us additional access to their technology! And what happens if those meddlesome StarSheriffs learn that our attacks are simply transporting cities to other worlds! We'll have Voltron knocking on our front door and it will be your ineptitude that brought them here!"

Yurak had the presence of mine to keep his eyes averted and ignored the crowned prince who intered the chamber. While the younger man was obviously bothered by something, Yurak did not enjoy the way the crowned prince seemed to laugh at him as he walked by.

Lotor bowed to his father, the fleeting memory of his mother's life bleeding out upon the ancient stone floor flashed before his eyes.

He swallowed hard and turned his eyes up to his father before bowing slightly from the waist.

"My beloved father, my lord and king," he called in traditional greeting from beside the fallen war hero.

"What is it you want, my son. We have to see to this traitor!"

Lotor laughed and spied Chaizza, a young Valkyrie weaving through the court, trying to place herself in a position where she could meet her commander's eye and he could see her.

"Our commander and friend has always server our empire well. I propose we make use of him in light of his failures."

Yurak blinked and shifted uncomfortably, his eyes just barely catching Chaizza's, who stood in rapt attention.

"What is it you have in mind my son," Zarkon barked.

"We borrow from the Earthlings a tradition from their holy wars. In light of his failures, Yurak would not make a good beastman in his advanced age," Lotor declared.

Yurak stiffened, determined not to allow the court to see how uncomfortable he was, nor would he allow Chaizza to see him weak.

"You propose we turn the commander into a living bomb," Zarkon asked, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"There is no better way to serve our people than to give our lives in honor and glory," Yurak said as he finally raiesd his eyes to the king.

He heard Chaizza gasp and saw her shake her head, but there was nothing for them now.

"My Lady, Chaizza!" Zarkon bellowed, drawing the Valkyrie's attention to the thrown.

She squared her shoulders and stepped forward and dropped to a knee before the dais.

"Sire," she called, her voice it's normal musical sound despite the roaring of her broken heart in her ears.

She closed her eyes, her hair a curtain that blocked the emperor from seeing her face and simply breathed in the man beside her. _Yurak, my love,_ she thought to herself. She could feel the warmth radiating from him, smell him, but she could not touch him.

"You will take command of the fleet."

She blinked in confusion and Lotor gasped in frustrated anger. It was clear that the crowned prince was vying for the position Yurak was vacating.

"As you command, my lord," she said. When she rose, her head was still bowed. "I will go to prepare the fleet to position the commander in the most opportune place possible."

Zarkon motioned his son to join him upon the dais. "We are only weeding out the snakes in the grass. That one is loyal to Yurak only and we will not tolerate any failures from her or the fleet while she is in command."

Lotor nodded thoughtfully and watched as Yurak was lead away, followed by his father's witch who was cackling gleefully.

As promised, Yurak would be delivered before sun down, and he was a man of his word.


	31. Interlude: Healing

I had fully anticipated that the next few chapters of The Guardian were going to not only be finished but polished up before we got home from vacation today, but I grossly underestimated how badly my fear of flying effected my body when traveling.

The good news is that I now have an editor. /cheer and will hopefully be heeding her advice. I admit that with how insane things have been recently that I haven't been overly productive in anything other than work.

That said, I promised a chapter today to the lovely readers on the KAEX reading list, so I thought I would make good.

The Guardian  
Interlude: Healing

Kijishi lay sprawled out in the hanger, far to still for his liking. In the back of his consciousness he was aware of a great many things.

First, he could here his brothers and his sister muttering amongst themselves, analyzing the last battle and how their chosen avatars performed under pressure.

Second, there were his pair of avatars. One lay broken, in and out of consciousness following surgery performed by his second avatar. True, he had allowed her to fly with him, and she was meant to fly, but she was not meant to fly with him.

Third, his second avatar and the one chosen by Kurojishi were now in an argument. In the end, neither would win or lose this round as in the end she would fly out of necessity.

Finally, there was Pidge and the crew of mechanics that were currently swarming him. At the moment he had an itch just beneath his metallic skin which was slowly knitting itself back together. He knew it was surprising the young pilot and that the boy was trying to find a scientific reason for it, but Kijishi knew that no matter how hard the boy would try that he would not find the answers that he was seeking.

Worse, he couldn't scratch at the very annoying itch until the crew backed away from him. He didn't want to hurt any of the fragile humanoid creatures.

With a heavy sigh he stretched his legs forward carefully and twitched as he lifted his head to look back at the crew, his right hind leg slowly inching toward his neck.

Grumbling in warning, he felt total disbelief when not a single one of the humans heeded his call. He grumbled again, this time the sound more of a pitiful whine than anything as he slowly twisted around.

The crew, now on the ground, watched as he scratched at himself, a loud purr emanating from his chest as his claws sliced through the top most layer of his hull before his hind leg dropped carefully the floor.

With a contented smile, he stretched out again, testing each limb before settling back down, ensuring that the majority of his hatches were available to his crew.

Now he was ready. There was little else they or he could do in preparation of the coming battle other than wait.

* * *

He was growling at her in frustration. "Damn it, Lulu! You could be hurt, or worse! At least consider allowing us to send for another pilot. With the lions I'm sure we could safely escort any sort of support crew we need to make sure that Voltron can fly without you."

"Damn it, Lulu," she mocked, staring up into his eyes. "We need to make sure that Voltron can fly without you. Thats the stupidest thing I've ever heard! You know that when it comes down to it, if a battle takes Voltron out of atmo that you will be useless unless I'm up there with you. What happens then oh fearless one? You black out, I black out and the others scramble to make sure that Voltron doesn't crash or worse!"

"I won't allow my wife to put herself into the line of fire like that!"

She started laughing. When she finally caught her breath she shook her head and sighed. "Seriously? Keith, I'm not mocking you, I promise. It's just that we are so much more than that. It doesn't matter what we do, when it comes down to it we both have to fly."

He scowled and stepped away from her and began to pace. They only had a few more hours before Lotor's promised deadline. Yellow Lion had done the near impossible and according to Pidge seemed to have healed himself. The whole concept was new and also frightening at the same time and instead of resting and allowing himself the time to prepare for the coming battle he was picking a fight with his wife.

He watched her out of the corner of his eyes as he moved about. She had literally fallen into the bed, and leaned back against the pillows, her bright blue eyes half closed as she watched him from behind her lashes.

His blood stirred and he bit back the urge to laugh. Only he would find himself married to the most beautiful woman in the known universe and somehow would manage to keep his hands off her.

Sure, she knew him better than he knew himself and if he needed to know anything about her all he need to do is think about what he wanted to know and the bond would fill in the missing pieces. It was entirely too easy, and the pull to touch her was almost more than painful.

He stopped, staring down at her as her eyes fluttered open and then closed again. The exhaustion she felt after battle, the surgery, the blasted call from Lotor, it was a wonder she was still conscious and in only a four more hours they would need her to fly.

Mumbling as her eyes fluttered closed again she stretched and rolled onto her side.

Barely making out her request for him to join her he gave in to her wishes. With a sad smile he crawled in beside her and pulled her into his arms.

_Lulu, I promise you, if we make it through this battle I'll show you how much I love you. We'll make it, not just for us, but for the people you've entrusted me with._


End file.
